Burrowing Owls, also known as the Athene cunicularia are one of several species that are moving swiftly towards extinction. I decided to analyze this topic due to the fact that owls are my favorite type of animal. After moving through several topics with little research to support my paper, I decided to begin a study on endangered owls. My investigation on the endangerment of Burrowing Owls falls under the category of globalization and sustainability. It falls under this category because the endangerment of Burrowing Owls relates to the environment and how the ecosystem works.
When investigating the extinction of the Athene cunicularia, I used the internet as my main source for information. The majority of websites I found were filled with…show more content… In the article, Problems Facing Burrowing Owls, it discusses one of the many reasons as to why Burrowing Owls are becoming an endangered species. In Problems Facing Burrowing Owls it says, “As with many endangered species, one of the main problems facing burrowing owls today is the loss of habitat (the land and resources) that they need to survive.” This introduces a new factor that has come into play in the survival of these birds of prey. Their loss of land has prevented them from increasing their population size. Once again, the article, Problems Facing Burrowing Owls explains why the owls have so little space. “Agricultural crops don't provide the habitat that burrowing owls require, so the owls are restricted to the small fragments of prairie that remain as cattle pastures. In much of southern Saskatchewan, these small cattle pastures are the last remaining refuge for burrowing owls,” (________). With such little land left available to them, it is no wonder why the Burrowing Owl population is having difficulty in reproducing and hunting; their habitat is not large enough for them to to do…show more content… Lack of food has killed many of the young as well as pesticides that have been used to exterminate their prey. The loss of the Burrowing Owl habitats and the slow decline of prairie rodents that dig their dens also harm the population. The endangerment and potential extinction of these magnificent birds of prey could tip and make the food web in the prairie areas become out of balanced and unstable. These birds’ numbers are continually decreasing from Canada, to the lower tip of South America! Researching about Burrowing Owls has expanded my horizons on what is happening in the environment, and even though I am still not an environmentalist, at least I am concerned for this
