Killing One Owl to Save Another Owl? | National Geographic

Summary

The script discusses the plight of the spotted owl, facing extinction due to the invasive bar owl. Despite habitat protections, the spotted owl population is in decline. The speaker, a conservationist, grapples with the difficult decision to use lethal removal of bar owls to save the spotted owls. Long-term studies reveal a significant annual decline in the northern range. The speaker is cautiously optimistic about the potential for coexistence after bar owl removal, emphasizing the importance of biodiversity for future generations.

Takeaways

• 🦅 The speaker is emotionally conflicted about lethally removing birds, indicating the difficulty of the decision.
• 📈 In the early 1990s, the population of barred owls increased, while the spotted owl population declined.
• 🔍 Habitat models indicated suitable habitats for spotted owls, yet their numbers continued to decrease.
• 🤔 The only feasible solution considered was the lethal removal of barred owls due to the difficulty of capturing them and uncertainty about what to do with them afterward.
• 📉 Long-term studies in the late 80s and early 90s showed a gradual decline in spotted owl populations, especially in Washington.
• 🏞️ Initial expectations were that protecting habitat would stabilize or increase spotted owl populations, but this did not happen.
• 🐾 Barred owls were found to invade spotted owl territories, causing physical confrontations and displacement.
• 🛡️ Two choices were presented: do nothing and allow spotted owls to go extinct, or control barred owl populations to allow coexistence.
• 📈 After initiating the removal of barred owls, spotted owl populations started to increase, suggesting the removal had a positive effect.
• 🧪 The speaker suggests experimental removal of barred owls to measure the effect on spotted owls from a scientific perspective.
• 🌿 The speaker believes in managing habitat for spotted owls and other old forest species, but is doubtful about long-term management of barred owls.
• 💔 The speaker expresses disappointment and disheartenment at the continued decline of the spotted owl population despite habitat protection efforts.
• 🌍 The speaker emphasizes the importance of protecting biodiversity for future generations and finds personal fulfillment in this work.

Q & A

What was the speaker's initial reaction to the idea of lethal removal of birds?

The speaker was initially shaking and unsure, finding the idea of lethal removal very difficult due to the birds' beauty and close relation.

What are the two closely related birds mentioned in the script?

The two closely related birds mentioned are the spotted owl and the barred owl.

When did the barred owl numbers start to increase significantly?

The barred owl numbers started to increase significantly around the late 1990s to early 2000s.

What was the initial assumption about the spotted owl population after habitat protection?

The initial assumption was that if habitat was protected, the spotted owl population would reach equilibrium or even increase.

What did the long-term demography studies reveal about the spotted owl population?

The studies revealed that the spotted owl populations were gradually declining, with an estimated decline of about 7 or 8% per year in Washington.

How were the spotted owls tracked in the studies?

The spotted owls were tracked by banding them and following them every year as part of the long-term demography studies.

What is the main threat to the spotted owls as indicated by the script?

The main threat to the spotted owls is the invasion of their habitat by the barred owls, which chase and physically hit them.

What are the two choices presented for the spotted owl's survival?

The two choices are to either do nothing and let the spotted owls go extinct or to control the barred owls in some areas to allow coexistence.

What was the immediate effect on the spotted owl population after the removal of barred owls?

The immediate effect was a reversal in the spotted owl population's decline, with an increase in the number of occupied sites.

What is the purpose of experimental removal of barred owls according to the speaker?

The purpose is to measure the effect on the spotted owl population and to understand if it is feasible from a scientific perspective.

What is the speaker's opinion on managing the barred owls in the long run?

The speaker believes that managing the barred owls in the long run is not feasible and that the focus should be on managing habitat for the spotted owls.

Why is biodiversity important to the speaker?

Biodiversity is important to the speaker because it makes life interesting on this planet and they believe it's crucial to protect it for future generations.

Outlines

00:00

🌿 Struggle with Lethal Removal for Spotted Owls

The speaker expresses their internal conflict over the decision to lethally remove Barred Owls to protect the Spotted Owl population. They describe the difficulty of deciding to kill one of two similar and beautiful birds. The speaker recounts the sudden increase in Barred Owl numbers around the year 2000, which coincided with a decline in Spotted Owl populations despite good habitat conditions. They explain that capturing Barred Owls is challenging, and even if captured, it's unclear what to do with them. The speaker's early work on Spotted Owls involved long-term demographic studies to track populations, which showed a concerning decline in the northern range of Washington. The speaker suggests that Barred Owls are invading and physically harassing Spotted Owls, leading to their displacement. They conclude that the options are to do nothing and let Spotted Owls go extinct or attempt to control Barred Owls to allow coexistence.

Keywords

💡Spotted Owl

The Spotted Owl is a species of owl native to the northwestern United States. In the video, it represents a key species whose population is in decline due to habitat encroachment and competition with another species, the barred owl. The script discusses efforts to protect and study the spotted owl, indicating its importance to biodiversity and the ecosystem.

💡Barred Owl

The Barred Owl is another species of owl that has expanded its range and is now competing with the Spotted Owl for habitat. The script mentions that barred owls are more aggressive and are pushing spotted owls out of their territories, leading to a decline in the spotted owl population.

💡Habitat

Habitat refers to the natural environment in which an organism lives. In the context of the video, habitat is crucial for the survival of the spotted owl. The script discusses how protecting the habitat was initially thought to be a solution, but the invasive barred owls have made this more complex.

💡Demography Studies

Demography studies involve the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. In the video, long-term demography studies are initiated to track the spotted owl population. These studies involve marking and following the birds annually to understand population trends, which are found to be declining.

💡Banding

Banding is the practice of marking animals with a band or tag for the purpose of individual identification and tracking. In the script, banding is used as a method in the demography studies to track spotted owls over time and monitor changes in their population.

💡Lethal Removal

Lethal removal refers to the deliberate killing of certain individuals of a species to manage a population. The script discusses the consideration of lethal removal of barred owls as a management strategy to protect the spotted owl population, highlighting the ethical dilemmas and the difficult decisions faced by conservationists.

💡Coexistence

Coexistence implies living or existing together, especially in peace. The script explores the idea of managing the situation so that both the spotted owl and the barred owl can coexist, despite their current competitive relationship.

💡Biodiversity

Biodiversity refers to the variety of life in all its forms and interactions. The script emphasizes the importance of protecting biodiversity, using the spotted owl as an example of a species that contributes to this diversity and is worth preserving for future generations.

💡Population Decline

Population decline refers to a decrease in the number of individuals in a population over time. The script describes a significant decline in the spotted owl population, particularly in Washington, where there is an estimated 7-8% decline per year.

💡Experimental Removal

Experimental removal involves the deliberate removal of certain species to study the effects on an ecosystem or another species. The script mentions the idea of experimentally removing barred owls to measure their impact on the spotted owl population, which is a scientific approach to understanding the situation.

💡Habitat Management

Habitat management refers to the active manipulation and maintenance of an environment to support certain species. The script discusses the efforts to manage the habitat for spotted owls and other species, indicating that despite these efforts, the population is still declining, which is disheartening for the conservationists involved.

Highlights

Emotional struggle with the decision to lethally remove birds.

Comparison of the physical similarities between the two bird species.

The realization that lethal removal might be the only solution.

The increase in Barow numbers in the early 2000s.

Habitat models indicating good habitat despite declining spotted owl numbers.

The initiation of long-term demography studies in the late 80s and early 90s.

Use of banded birds to track population trends.

Gradual decline of spotted owl populations in the northern range.

Expectation that habitat protection would stabilize spotted owl populations.

Observation of continued decline despite habitat protection.

The impact of Barow invasion on spotted owl territories.

Two choices presented: do nothing or control Barow populations.

Positive results from the removal of Barow leading to an increase in spotted owl sites.

Uncertainty about the long-term success of the removal strategy.

The idea of experimental removal of Barow to measure effects on spotted owls.

Personal view on managing habitat for spotted owls and letting nature take its course.

Disheartening decline in spotted owl population despite habitat protection efforts.

Importance of protecting biodiversity for future generations.

Spotted owl as a symbol of the incredible biodiversity that makes life worth living.

Transcripts

I was shaking and uh I had to steady

myself I wasn't sure I could actually do

it there was just something in me that

seemed like this was so

wrong here's two birds they're closely

related they they look similar they're

both beautiful birds and then to go out

and decide I'm going to I'm going to

kill one of these birds I'm going to

remove them is a really difficult thing

to

do

that's the female that's the male over

there in the early 1990s we started

hearing some bardas around

2000 the Bardow numbers suddenly started

going up our our habitat models

indicated that there's good habitat out

there but despite that our spotted out

numbers started to go downhill we soon

recognized that this this was going to

be a problem and we're wondering what

are we going to do about it and it it

seemed like the only feasible thing

probably was going to be lethal removal

of barow because they're difficult to

capture but even if you can capture them

the issue is what would you do with

them when I first started working on

spotted Al there was very little known I

mean we we knew that they were out there

in Old Forest because there were some

IAL records but we really had no

information on how abundant they were we

didn't know what their Total

distribution was they were just a whole

lot of

unknowns starting in the late 80s and

early 90s we initiated some long-term

demography studies which are they're

studies that are designed to track the

population and we use banded Birds to do

that so we go out and we Mark all the

birds and and follow them every year

this off right here so it doesn't stick

out so far you about an eighth of an

inch sticking

out okay good what the data suggests

from all those study areas is that the

populations are gradually declining in

the northern part of the range in

Washington uh where the we're estimating

about 7 or 8% decline per year which is

really a a pretty it's a crash

basically we thought that if we just did

a good job of protecting habitat that

the spotted out population would

eventually reach equilibrium or even

increase and everything would be fine

we're seeing a continued Decline and all

the evidence suggests that that's due to

the invasion of this whole area by the

bardal bows come into a spal territory

and chase them around and physically hit

them if they can uh and basically chase

them

out we basically have two choices one is

to do nothing and spotted owls slowly go

extinct or we tried to control bows at

least in some areas so that the two

species can

coexist the the the results have been in

my opinion quite um profound in the

sense that that a spotted our population

which was going in this direction as

soon as we started the removal

immediately started going in the other

direction in terms of the number of

occupied

sites I guess I would say um I can't be

100% confident that it's going to work

in the long term but I'm quite confident

that if we don't do

anything that that the spotted owl is is

headed towards

extension I think the idea of doing an

experimental removal of B Al is to

measure the effect on spotted Al makes

sense from a scientific perspective it

it'll help us to understand you know Is

it feasible personally I kind of think

about all we can do is do our best to

manage habitat for spotted owls and

other species that occur in Old Forest

and kind of let the two species work it

out I personally don't think we can ever

manage bows in the long

run to me I mean I spent my life trying

to protect and and and save this species

uh we've done I think an incredible job

of protecting habitat and yet we're

still seeing the population declining

and that's really

disheartening for me what makes life

interesting on this planet is the

incredible biodiversity that that

surrounds us it's what it's what I live

for I mean I think this is the only

chance we get and I think it's

incredibly important that we try to

protect that biodiversity for future

Generations because this place we live

in is amazing this spad is just one

little piece of that incredible

biodiversity it's a piece that I happen

to get focused on for most of my life

but it's what makes life worth living

for

me