Snowy Owls Go Home

[@AIWCwildlife]

Good question! Many wild animals stop eating when they are first admitted to the rehab center because they are very stressed by the unfamiliar environment. Most of them start eating on their own within a few days once they have gotten used to the rehab center. Sometimes owls don't recognize dead mice or dead gophers as food, since they are used to catching live prey in the wild. It takes days to weeks of force-feeding them before they learn that dead mice are actually food.

[@Mazryonh]

Why would an owl refuse to eat? Did it hate humans that much?

[@Mazryonh]

I don't think that Snowy Owls, being nomadic as they are, can afford to be picky eaters. They must take carrion every now and then, and if they're hungry I'm sure those that survived managed to take down things like squirrels or rabbits or fish that aren't familiar to them.