Keurboom Park, a cherished green space in Cape Town’s southern suburbs, has now lost four owls to secondary poisoning from rat poison.
The Keurboom Park Association (KPA) issued an urgent appeal this week, asking residents to stop using harmful rodenticides and to opt for safer alternatives.
“For many years, Keurboom Park has been a home to a number of raptors: Black Sparrowhawks, Gymnogenes (African Harrier-Hawks) and Spotted Eagle-Owls,” the statement read.
“All of these birds have been able to find a sufficient supply of their own preferred prey in the ‘wild areas’ of our Park.”
“Over the years, successive young Spotted Eagle-Owls (Bubo africanus) have given Park users a great deal of pleasure through watching them grow and learning to fly.”
However, the Park’s much-loved Eagle-Owls are under threat.
A tragic owl love story
Last year, the resident female owl lost her long-time mate after he was found collapsed beneath their nesting site.
Despite immediate treatment, he died of internal bleeding. This is due to the anti-coagulant present in all rat poisons.
“His lungs filled with blood and he slowly suffocated – the same awful death that is caused to mice and rats having eaten rodenticides,” the Association explained.
The widowed female eventually found a new mate, and hopes were high for another successful breeding season.
In late July this year, parkgoers reported hearing the distinct calls of a male and female owl and even spotted the pair mating in the early morning.
Tragically, those hopes were dashed earlier this month.
“A few days ago, the female bird that has been with us for years, and lost her own mate last year, was found in the Park on the ground, dying,” the KPA confirmed.
“Once again, the cause was secondary poisoning. We have now had four owl deaths in the Park that we know about.”
“Our new male owl doesn’t yet know that his own newly-found mate has been killed. Every morning and evening he is calling for her.”
Secondary poisoning
When rats consume rodenticides, they remain alive for up to two days – weak, disorientated and easy prey. Raptors that eat them ingest the toxins in turn.
The process, known as secondary poisoning, is deadly not only to owls but to many species of urban wildlife.
According to the KPA, owls are an irreplaceable ally in keeping the environment healthy.
“If we lose them, we face a future without natural predators and with a reliance on dangerous chemicals.”
Instead, residents are urged to adopt humane and non-toxic alternatives, including sealing food waste, keeping areas clean, using spring-loaded cage traps baited with bread and peanut butter.
Captured rodents should also be released into natural areas like Keurboom Park where they can serve as prey for raptors.
More information on environmentally safe pest control can be found here. Alternatively, contact the Park at info@keurboompark.org.za.
Have you seen the owls at Keurboom Park?
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