Owl Pellets Fifth Grade Science

Vocabulary Ecosystem – Community of living organisms Food Chain – How each living thing gets food – begins with plant life and ends with animal life Producer – Living things that produce their own food, such as plants Consumer – Living things that eat other animals or plants for food, such as animals Dissect – To open something up with the intent to examine it Owl Pellet - ???

Is the Owl a Producer or a Consumer?

What is an Owl Pellet? Owls swallow their food whole. Imagine an owl swooping down on a mouse and snatching it up for dinner. The owl will digest parts of food but the rest forms into a pellet which they cough up and spit out. Think of a hairball with bones!

Materials Needed Owl Pellets Laminated maps of bones Tweezers Forceps Probes Magnifying glass Trays to put the findings and collect pellet remnants Gloves to dissect Baggie to collect owl pellet bones Sharpie to mark bags

What Objects Can You Find in an Owl Pellet? Bone Observations How Many? Skulls Jaws Legs Other

Bone Chart

Recap and Clean-up