MK Nature Center Pleads for Owl Pellets

You read correctly, the MK Nature Center is low on its supply of what owls spit up. Each year, educators at the Nature Center teach more than 400 people about owls through the "HOO lives in Idaho" program. Students receive an introductory course to learn about owls and how they are adapted to hunt at night. They also take an outdoor tour of the Nature Center; looking for owl evidence (pellets) and habitat. Instructors help students dissect the owl pellets, which generally contain interesting evidence of what the owls have been eating in the form of bones and other animal parts that don't digest. Students also make artistic owl puppets. Most of the owl pellets used in the "HOO lives in Idaho" program are donated by people who collect them from the wild. Wild pellets are much more interesting and educational than those purchased from biological supply companies. The purchased pellets generally only contain the skeletons of white mice, whereas wild pellets yield bird beaks, squirrel skulls, crayfish exoskeletons, rabbit feet and many other interesting bones. The "HOO lives in Idaho" program is designed mostly for group instruction, but will also be one of the many activities featured during the Nature Center's 25th Anniversary Party on April 25. Teachers or daycare operators interested in scheduling a lesson and anyone with pellets to donate can call (208) 287-2906, or email sara.focht@idfg.idaho.gov. If you itemize charitable contributions on your income taxes, you will receive a $3.00 donation receipt for each pellet you donate. The "HOO lives in Idaho" program is just one of many educational programs offered by the MK Nature Center. For details on this and other fun programs and activities at the Nature Center, click: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/public/education/mkncPrograms.pdf