From Deseret News archives:

Boise scientist calls deaths of barn owls along freeway alarming

Published: Sunday, Jan. 7, 2007 12:08 a.m. MST
 |  E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + - 
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A study of roadkill on Interstate 84 between Boise and Burley has found so many dead barn owls that a Boise State University scientist says he's concerned the owls could disappear from areas surrounding the travel corridor.

"I don't have enough information to predict the viability of the species," Jim Belthoff told The Times-News. "But the mere fact that cars are killing this many animals from one species is alarming."

Belthoff expects to publish a study of the issue later this year.

For 2 1/2 years, Belthoff and graduate student Than Boves have twice a month driven the southern Idaho highway between Boise and Burley collecting animals killed by vehicles.

They found 2,518 dead animals, with 800 of those being barn owls, the most common dead animal found in the study. The next most common were skunks, which tallied 223.

Justin Barrett, a wildlife biologist with the Jerome field office of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, said his office began seeing more dead owls along the highway beginning four years ago.

"It could be changes in agricultural practices combined with prey distribution, but we don't really know why it's happening," Barrett said.

Neither does Belthoff, though he has some theories.

Story continues below
Most of the dead owls found during the collection process were young, and Belthoff said the young owls could be getting hit at a higher rate than more experienced owls. He also said barn owls tend to hunt for small mammals such as mice by swooping low, increasing the potential for collisions with vehicles.

Another theory is that pesticides from nearby fields could be making the birds sick and

Belthoff said the barn owl population in the area is unknown because the birds are nocturnal and difficult to spot.

To bolster the population, though, the Idaho Transportation Department has supplied money that Belthoff and Boves are using to give away barn owl nesting boxes.

If more money becomes available, they plan to begin experiments to see if there is some way to prevent so many barn owls from being hit.

Information from: The Times-News, www.magicvalley.com

Recent comments

I live in Portland, Oregon and have collected barn owl pellets here...

Nick | March 8, 2008 at 10:39 a.m.

previousnext

Latest comments

Well I am from EHS and we have the best center in the entire state he is 7'0...

NFL local watch, week 13

Thanks again Andrew. You are a stud for finding all of this info. I love it!

The article says that nudity is not illegal at the hot springs. If that is...

"Happy Hollandaise" and "Seasoned Greetings" Merry Christmas

BYU football: Bronco weighs in on Hall

Many yewt fans calling the kettle black... Makes me laugh. Hypocracy....

i think spending that much of money on i-15 project is a way too much. why...

Phoenix temple inspires thanks

Oh please, the Church can speak for itself, but I am sure that there is no...

Chicken-lovers dance for free food

- become a vegetarian. I'm not kidding. Imagine all the carcinogenic...

I don't hate the Utah basketball team because they aren't very good. I don't...

every city in the western US has this ordinance. In Provo the police will...

Advertisements