Rat poison threatens Vancouver’s surging owl population: expert

VANCOUVER — A spike in owl sightings in downtown Vancouver could help rid the city of pesky rodents, a wildlife group says, but there’s a downside for the birds.

Photos of barred owls sitting outside transit stations and on building awnings have been circulating on social media in recent weeks.

While owls can help lower the rodent population, the birds are at risk in an urban environment, said Rob Hope, of The Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society in nearby Delta.

One major threat is rodenticide. Hope said owls eating rats that have consumed poison can themselves be poisoned.

Rat poison is the cheapest and easiest way to get rid of the pests, Hope said, but it can take up to 10 days for a rodent to die, after they’re left in a drunken-like state.

“If you have a rat that is hauling butt and you have another one that is a little off kilter, as opportunistic hunters that [owls] are, they’re going to pick off the one that is kind of drunk and that’s usually the poisoned one,” Hope said.

He is encouraging people to switch to snap traps instead of poison, to minimize the harm to owls and other predators.

Owls can also be hurt or killed flying into glass buildings or being hit by vehicles while hunting, Hope said, contributing to an increase in the number of calls his organization has received about injured wildlife.

“When they’re on the sides of the roads hunting for food, obviously when a car is coming and they’re taking off or landing for food is when they’re getting smoked.”

With increased development, Hope said, it’s possible that more owls will move into the city as they are pushed out of their natural habitat. That could result in less prey — a good thing for the city.

“Rats and mice have always been a problem in Vancouver. With [owls] hanging around, more predators, they’ll be popping more prey,” he said.

Hope said the bird population in the city can ebb and flow and there appears to be a population of younger owls “that are looking for a hunting area or anywhere they can basically set up shop.”

Their usual targets are rats or pigeons, he said, adding downtown Vancouver seems to have a plentiful supply of the owls’ preferred food.

Barred owls have been culled in some areas of British Columbia to reduce competition and protect the endangered spotted owl, which is considered a priority species.

But Hope said the barred owls’ presence in Vancouver shouldn’t have a negative effect on other species.

Since barred owls are “more docile” than other birds, Hope said it’s not surprising that some of the photos taken by the public are within close range.

“They’re not the smartest ones, I guess you can say … even in the wild, people can usually get five or six feet away from them before they’re spooked,” he said, adding anyone trying to snap a photo should still give a bird some space.