Secondary rodenticide poisoning has nearly wiped out a family of owls nesting on the balcony of a home in St Francis Bay.
The latest casualties are part of a batch of nine owls that zero poisons pest control organisation Urban Raptor has collected from St Francis Bay and Cape St Francis in the past week alone, all apparently killed in the same way.
In the latest incident on Wednesday, two spotted eagle owl chicks and one parent bird were found dead after they ate a rat that was brought into the nest at the weekend.
The other parent has disappeared and is almost certainly lying dead somewhere on the open land next to the house where the one adult was found.
Only one chick, which did not apparently eat any of the rat, has survived, and Urban Raptor and Wildline team Arnold Slabbert and Jaci Neale-Shute are hoping they will be able to rehabilitate it.
Homeowner Cheri-lee Reynolds, whose house is in the canals area of St Francis Bay, said she was devastated and angry.
“It was such an unusual thing to have them nesting right here in our balcony flower bed, and the chicks were looking so strong and healthy.
“They were about five weeks old, so about two weeks away from being able to fly.
“For this to now happen is heartbreaking.”
She said she and her partner had moved into the newly built house about four months ago and the pair of adult eagle owls had arrived shortly after that.
“It was amazing to have them so close and extra special when the female laid three eggs.
“They subsequently hatched and I went out every morning to see how the chicks were doing, so I’ve followed their progress from the word go.”
She said on Friday the male caught a rat and brought it back to the balcony.
“I videoed him giving it to the female and she took it down into the nest. It was so rare and beautiful to see.
“On the Saturday they had not eaten the rat and they were still fine but when I looked on Sunday I could see they had eaten it and two of the chicks were not looking good.”
Reynolds said she did not know at that stage anything about secondary rodenticide poisoning and on Monday and Tuesday she was unable to get to her normal checking on the owls routine.
However, when she described the situation to her partner’s sister during a phone conversation, the other woman immediately highlighted what Slabbert had posted on Facebook about rodenticide poisoning.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
“This morning when I went to check on them there was no sign of the parents, but two of the chicks were dead and the third was just clinging to life.”
She called Slabbert and he and Neale-Shute immediately drove out to St Francis Bay.
A short while later, Slabbert found the one parent bird under a tree on the adjacent open land where it often perched.
Reynolds said she was determined to spread the word far and wide about the hazards of secondary rodenticide poisoning.
“We’ve never had poisons at our house because of our dogs but I never knew about secondary rodenticide poisoning and I’m sure most people are the same.
“You just want to get rid of your rats and you don’t think.
“But I realise now what a terrible effect it is having on our owls and other raptors and wildlife generally.
“I don’t know where this mouse was poisoned but I’m going to send out posts and show the videos I took of our owls as widely as possible to try get people to change.
“We have to find a wildlife-friendly way to get rid of rats and other pests, and stop using poisons.”
Slabbert said the latest incident was a clear example of secondary rodenticide poisoning, where the owls consumed a rat which had been poisoned.
“We will be taking the dead owls this afternoon for liver toxicology tests to be done but there is no doubt about it.
“The rat being delivered to the nest in Cheri-lee’s video is a house rat which is nine out of 10 times the rat that people look to get rid of.
“Since Friday we have collected 10 owls from Cape St Francis and St Francis Bay, nine carcasses and this one chick today which survived.
“There is no eco-friendly or owl compatible poison, as some of the products are labelled.
“If you want to get rid of your rats but also protect wildlife, you need to start by looking at how you manage your food waste.
“One of the first things that needs to go is the bird feeder because that is a primary attraction for rats.”
The Herald
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