A wildlife photographer caught the moment an owl upchucked a pellet so large that it had to use its talons to yank the thing out of its mouth. It’s bizarre but also fascinating to watch.
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“You’re about to see the world’s largest owl pellet!” claims Heather King, who goes by Thee Owl Queen on Instagram. In her caption, she adds: “I have been filming and photographing Owls in the wild for 14 years! This was definitely one of the highlights. I’ve seen a lot of owls cast a lot of pellets but never have I ever seen one [use] it’s talons [sic] to yank it out of its mouth.”
I’ve seen discarded owl pellets in the wild, and I’ve dissected them with my kids, and I wrongly assumed they were always about the size I’ve observed them to be—about 1-3 inches and oval shaped. The fact that this one appears to be the size and shape of a banana is blowing my mind.
Watch an owl cast a pellet so large it’s borderline horrifying here:
P.S. That look the owl gives the camera after it gets that massive pellet out is hilarious.