Owl Pellet Dissection Name: _______________ ____________ Period: ______ Date: ___/___/_____ Introduction Owl pellets are made of bones, teeth, hair, and feathers of animals eaten by owls. Pellets are made by owls swallowing their prey whole instead of chewing into small pieces. Owls do not digest the entire animal. The stomach muscles of the owl form the undigested fur, bones, feather, etc. into pellets and regurgitate them (look at the image above). The pellets you will be using have been dried and sterilized (the bacteria have been killed). Purpose: To learn more about the skeletal system. You will be using tools to help remove bones from your pellet, organize them, identify them, and try to put together a “whole animal”. Tools Tweezers Magnifying Glass Bone Chart Metal Probe (needle) Owl Pellet Glue stick Skeleton card Procedure 1. Collect your tray with the tools and owl 2. Unwrap your owl pellet 3. Gently break the pellet in half. pellet 4. Use the probe and tweezers to gently separate the fur/feathers from the bones. 5. Put the bones in a separate pile. 6. Separate the bones and group the ones that look similar 7. Use the bone chart to identify the bones. 8. Glue your bones onto the Owl Pellet Skeleton Card. 9. Label the bones that you have glued to your animal skeleton chart. 10. Clean up by throwing away the extra bones and fur. 11. EVERYONE WASH YOUR HANDS WITH SOAP AND WATER!!!!!!!!
