THE EAGLE OWL : THE LORD OF THE NIGHT

you you as the Sun Goes Down many animals seek refuge others become active and take advantage of the night to go unnoticed as they feed for others it is now when they begin to hunt this is where my domain begins when the great blinding star hides and darkness reigns over the land the Bubo Bubo hispanic as' is one of the 20 subspecies of ego owls that inhabit the eurasian continent a strictly nocturnal animal it is an unrivaled super predator with an ample array of prey there is an infinite number of animals that meander under the Iberian Knights all of them working under the same premise to eat without being eaten with their senses especially designed to function in total darkness these night creatures have developed ingenious mechanisms of attack defense and communication thus converting the realm of darkness into a battlefield that tests the most skilled and stealthy you darkness and silence are my allies nighttime is my cover these are my domains the Iberian Peninsula is the westernmost habitat of the Eagle Owl the most powerful nocturnal bird of prey on the planet which inhabits Europe North Africa and Asia they're viciously territorial and they nest both in warm Mediterranean mounts and Riverside badlands and in deciduous forests and abrupt mountain ranges this formidable 70 centimeter long and 1 point 8 meter wide true owl is the absolute lord of the night who dares interrupt my bath a wildcat it has been a long time since I saw one of them the miscegenation with their domesticated cousins has lessened the purity of its species though not its courage ah we're not going to fight over a mouse the territory of just one Eagle Owl can be as large as 40 square kilometers they become fertile in the very first months of the year when the male's mating call can be heard from great distances marking the limits of its domain ooh nocturnal birds of prey or stray forms are divided into two families the true owls such as Eagle Owls Longyear dowels or scalp cells and the tight ona die such as the barn owl thanks to their characteristic facial discs which act as receptor valets filtering and amplifying sounds they can hear the faintest sound and thus detect the position of their prey especially micro mammals such as moles shrews and mice they usually swallow their prey whole subjugating them with the power of their potent gastric juices and like the rest of the nocturnal birds of prey they regurgitate the indigestible parts of the swallowed animal in a kind of ball made up of bones and hair known as a palate as the March moon grows the raw winter comes to an end bringing about the reproduction of many species the wind is not a good Ally for nocturnal birds of prey it makes it stealthy and precise flight enormous ly difficult which is indispensable to capture the scurrilous rodents however this long year owls nest is always well supplied by the male who delivers the spoils of its hunt to the female so that she can distribute the food equally among her chicks always controlling who's eaten and who hasn't in such a prolific clutch as this bird appraised which can lay between one and six eggs the size differences between each chick are considerable the older ones will soon wander along the nearby branches and even onto neighboring trees which makes the feeding and protection processes all the more difficult for their parents an adult long eared owl can measure up to 35 centimeters long and is almost 1 meter wide this species can be found throughout the north of the Eurasian continent and in North America they are a true menace to the seasonal plagues of rodents which they trap in open terrain and small forests among the farmlands near their nests from March to June they normally inhabit old abandoned core vadai nests such as this Magpies located in a pine tree 6 metres above ground their nerve and mischief are often the object of much curiosity they constitute a delicious meal for climbing predators like this Janet although this small animals bravery and aggressiveness scares away opportunistic intruders friend right the Eagle makes its nest on rocky moons which give it absolute control over its surrounding territory while the male is perched on its vantage point the female provides warmth for the chicks always aware of the faintest noise that Fox is here again one can never be too careful with this over lady she could attack the nest and finish off all our hoops for the year and even harm my mate I won't let this happen if she gets too close I'll throw her off the precipice they fiercely mark their territory with their characteristic singing any intruder is harassed and if necessary ferociously attacked until they abandon their domain it looks like it's retreating we're out a team they're eggs hatched two to three months after they're laid and the chicks that hatched first are clearly much more developed than those that do so later their mother teaches them to eat and protects them in the nest while the male brings them food after three weeks they're able to eat and swallow alone and the female will be less present in the nest and thus participate more actively in hunting in order to satisfy their offsprings for Asia's hunger they're yelling gets progressively louder soon the lanes will be due many other night creatures mark their territory and seek out a mate using special sounds and frequencies the European tree frog is a five centimeter long amphibian from the beginning of spring in the small ponds and streams with abundant vegetation the Mane's attract females with their powerful singing they're thin extremities and fingers with suckers allow them to court their lives under the cosmic showers others silent only emerge by night from their aquatic hideout where they spend most of their lifetime this salamander is an Iberian raped Newt a voracious blade endemic to the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa that at 30 centimeters long is the longest of its species an army of walking frogs like this natter Jack toad overcome just about any obstacle to ambush their preferred prey of crickets or beetles I remember as a youth fooling around with some of these but their slimy skin isn't edible the common toad is the most robust easily reaching 20 centimeters it is an exceptionally effective hunter that preys on insects snails and earthworms by blending in with its surroundings and by using its elastic and sticky tongue which it shoots out who the amazing precision it's eyesight is well adapted to the lack of light as it can detect the most minut movement in order to defend itself from aggression it secretes a toxic substance from its parotid glands located behind its eyes making it an undesired meal for most animals salamanders are a genus of uruvela amphibians known as caudatus the repealing coloration is a possum addict which means it serves as a warning to possible predators because of its toxicity they're also quite unique in being able to regenerate any lost limb they're ovoviviparous which means that their eggs hatch inside their body where they'll end up developing completely feeding off their unborn sisters this female is looking for a quiet place in which her 2270 offspring will be born they'll live in the water for the first three months of their lives almost all toads hide in order to spend the hours of sunlight in their burrows under rocks or digging more or less deeply depending on the needs of the moment to this end the Western Spade foot is uniquely doted with especially hard nails in their hind legs similar to Spurs which help them dig over a metre underground where they can find humidity and protection whoo-hoo night is coming to its end soon the darkness will give way to blinding light I must go rest now as dawn sets in owls nestled in their darkest hiding places where they won't be noticed while they sleep although they're constantly alert and aware of everything that goes on around in their domain almost all living beings on the planet feed either directly or indirectly from the Sun plants insects birds reptiles mammals and birds of prey whether they be diurnal or nocturnal all of them are linked to a gene that begins with the Sun the influence of this star causes season changes marking the rhythms and behavior of all living beings spring gives way to an explosion of life in a synchronised way and as if it were a brand new dawn plants and animals awake from the cold lethargy of the winter night this is the largest of the finches on the Iberian Peninsula the ha Finch measures up to 18 centimetres and feeds off the fruits of trees it's strong beak powered by highly developed muscles allows it to exert a force of over 40 kilograms with which ax can break through cherry seeds like European gold finches and the rest of the grain eaters it unconsciously contributes to the spreading of seeds of trees from which it feeds thus helping them complete their biological cycle this great saurian is the oscillated lizard the largest of the european lizards measuring up to 60 centimeters in length it's Helio thermic which means that it needs the sun's energy to warm its cold blood and thus make its muscles contract with the necessary speed to hunt or flee from its predators it's getting hotter and the humidity condenses forming clouds that unload on the mountains regenerating the water cycle from the beginning of spring many species of birds of prey migrated from Africa establishing their nests in the Iberian Peninsula and southern Europe Hawks booted eagles short toed snake Eagles and Vanilla's Eagles many of them compete directly with the Eagle Owl since they hunt by day in their same territory and in general hunt the same prey there is a reciprocal ancestral aversion between diurnal and nocturnal birds of prey my queen rests as she protects the nest while I hide under in the end I awoke and watch my enemies go by I must keep them under control at all times the Iberian goshawk on the other hand is a local there are continuous problems among them this exhibit red eye is a powerful flying hunter that preys on rabbits hares pigeons Magpies and partridges making them direct competitors which is why they cannot tolerate each other nothing escapes the watch of the Eagle Owl even in plain light of day its retina with over 50,000 photosensitive rods and it's pupil which can contract or dilate very quickly to compensate for changes in light make the Owls eyes a marvel of evolution hmm we like quiet places with plenty of prey gulches in rocky and inaccessible mounts with closeby vantage points from which we can control our dominions we alternate places each year settling on one side or the other of the gorge for reasons of security we'll settle for any reasonably protected ledge we don't build a nest when our chicks are still vulnerable so is not to attract attention as the afternoon goes by rabbits begin to leave their burrows the youngest are always the most confident these lagomorph spend the hottest hours of the day in long and complex subterranean galleries excavated by their own for generations when the temperature goes down they come out to feed on legumes true grasses roots seeds and bombs transforming the energy that the plants get from the Sun into meat they themselves constitute an important source of food for many others especially for large birds of prey such as the Eagle Owl the Golden Eagle the Bonelli's eagle and the goshawk hmm powerful flight but you'd better make sure nighttime doesn't settle in I still have a few hours of rest left small rodents and micro mammals such as door mice shrews rats and these mice are the main source of food of many others small sized predators like others of their species they live in underground galleries tree holds and under rocks any hole is appropriate to install a burrow where they store seeds nuts and share body heat they're sexually active all year round and very prolific with litters of up to 8 offspring thus the importance of their predators to keep their growth patterns in check the earliest riser the nocturnal predators is the little owl with a maximum size of 25 centimeters it's usually a cave dweller although it also nests in the tree holes of old olive trees and holm oaks it hunts just about anything that moves and has an appropriate size from crickets and beetles to grasshoppers and mice it's often preyed upon by other larger birds of prey especially eagle owls and their nests are usually ransacked by european pine martens weasels and foxes however it is well extended throughout the southern half of Europe and North Africa this nervous dwarf of the understory roams areas with good visibility from which it controls any kind of movement thanks to its amazing vision adapted to both the light of dusk and to the most absolute darkness under branches or over a rock its speckled plumage provides the necessary and visibility to go unnoticed among both its predators and its prey like the rest of its family its frontal eyes and Dow it with stereoscopic vision indispensable for measuring distances it's apparently chaotic flight pattern the surprisingly precise hmm he's fast and cocky the last rays of Sun fall on the Iberian mountains it's time for the changing of the guard many bird nests such as this Eurasian collared doves will be looted at night by Beach Martens European pine martens Janet's weasels and even snakes a mighty army of voracious crawlers from which they can only escape by having previously chosen a proper placement for their nest and go as unnoticed as possible wild boars won't think twice either about ransacking entire nests belonging to anything within its reach from quail and young rabbits to worms and bulbs they eat absolutely everything and quite viciously - from the last minutes of sunset to dawn an Iberian adult male can weigh up to 150 kilograms what a racket how dare they bother me of these hours the special structure of the Eagle Owls feathers is able to convert the flapping of its wings into an absolutely quiet event an indispensable requirement for a hunter that moves in a realm of total silence I don't see any Eagles in the sky although it's still a bit early I'll begin to get into position tonight I have to hunt my chicks must already be hungry you dear rest by day lying in the shadows of thick vegetation while they ruminate the food they've had the night before they begin to feed again in the afternoon cool their diet is mainly made up of green sprouts and forest fruit those live in herds by the Dozen with their offspring while Bucks move about alone or in much smaller groups fawns are nursed for four to five months and mothers can be in heat again while still nursing as adults they have few natural predators only in certain areas of the center at Northeast of the Iberian Peninsula are there still groups of wolves Canis lupus Ignotus and Iberian endemic that is at the top of the food chain the disappearance of the wolf from many areas has enabled the expansion of species such as the wild boar without a natural predator and thanks to its adaptability and its uncontrolled growth they have at times become a real problem the savin Singh the importance of super predators in controlling populations these robust seward's can have up to 10 offspring at a time which reach sexual maturity at the age of two when they easily weigh at least 40 kilograms the time of the hunter is nigh once again my Dominion is expanded with the arrival of nightfall let my reign begin only on very few occasions to Eagle Owls leave their hiding places during the daytime in general they only hunt in the absolute darkness of night under an air of apparent tranquility an infinite number of species prepares for the daily game of life and death this snub-nosed viber after getting warned by resting on a son he did rock becomes active at nightfall to search for food you it ambushes small rodents which it attacks by using its thermo sensitive tongue and its sense of smell in the most absolute silence it positions itself to surprise its prey it's venom inoculator is among the most evolved and specialized in the animal kingdom as soon as it's ready to bite its fangs move forward and once the victims skin is perforated the glands compressing muscles contract and inject the venom in a matter of milliseconds enough for a lethal dose at rest the fangs retract hidden among the superior John yukos and behind them there are various other fangs at different stages of development ready to substitute those that fall out because of use or by accident they follow the path of their unfortunate victim which a few seconds later will die from hemorrhage convulsions the venom will also liquefy tissue thus helping it in its digestive processes as it must swallow its prey whole as with all serpents its metabolism is very slow so it will take days to digest this feast and weeks to recover its appetite time that it will spend lying under a rock already two weeks old the Eagle Owls chicks have gone from immobility and total dependence on their mother to being more active and gaining more autonomy in another two weeks they'll begin to explore the nest surroundings and after their first two months they'll be ready for their first flight and can accompany their parents in the hunt wolves hunt in packs cornering the weakest of the group in synchronized fashion but when the time comes to share their food their strong our highly hierarchical social structure makes for shows of power that break the Silence of the night in a chaos of fury Oh only the alpha male and female will have the privilege of choosing the best bites this oil established by force will be defended above all else through behavioral gestures of power and Submission after centuries of human persecution the wolf is shyly gaining ground in the Iberian Peninsula thus regaining though not without controversy the importance of its eco regulating role within populations of its prey the Eagle Owl is also a super predator that hunts an ample range of prey from crows quails and even birds of prey such as the goshawk honks little owls and tawny owls to fox cubs weasels hare rabbits hedgehogs and rats although depending on the abundance of a particular species they can become very specialized and prey on them only until their population is controlled it hasn't spotted me let me measure the distance one more time and you raaah it got away in the nick of time now it's disoriented I'm sure it's not expecting another try charge you're mine this will keep them busy for a while I have to go out for more food they must eat enough so they can grow strong in the meantime the female is perched near the nest watching she also hunts their vision is quite acute ten times better than a human's it's also stereoscopic which is essential to measuring distances but its visual field is reduced so they compensate for this inconvenience with a flexible neck that can rotate 270 degrees still they can only focus on prey if it detects a movement the rabbits main defense in an open field is to stay put which makes spotting it difficult until at the very last moment they jump and running in the most unsuspected direction although that's not good enough for this majestic bird of prey when it's done hunting the adrenaline makes its feathers stand on end making it seem larger this is also an intimidation tactic in the face of Gresham the female is always more corpulent than the male sometimes weighing half a kilogram more and easily surpassing three kilograms it can thus catch and carry considerably larger prey to the nest without too much effort the mail lighter and more agile is practically infallible nobody saw me the darkness and silence of the night my cover eight centimeter long claws dig in like bayonets to end their victims life as quickly and quietly as possible it's curved and sharp beak is especially designed to tear apart its victims without effort after eating a few bites and gaining strength it will take the most succulent parts - its chicks oh I can't hear that old Fox everything seems quiet I'll let them tear apart the meat they need to sharpen their beaks and burn to use them you have to stand up to your older brothers my daughter I can't put food in your became all soon you'll be bigger than they are Shh the presence of the parents in the nest will become less frequent until the age of five weeks when the chicks will roam around strengthening their wing muscles the characteristic white feathers that have protected them from the cold will slowly disappear and give way to a new gray plumage finally a dark brown flecked one will emerge perfect for camouflage amidst the vegetation until they become independent and begin to hunt on their own in September when they'll be expelled from the area by their own parents they'll thus have to move about and find new hunting territories until at the age of two they reach sexual maturity and settle down to find a mate with which they'll continue to raise young chicks the rest of their lives this couple has been nesting here for over 15 springs life expectancy for their species in the wild is a little over 20 years they need quiet and ample areas with abundant prey to complete their biological cycle but unfortunately these wild enclaves are increasingly fragmented what's more death by electrocution collision with traffic and poisoning are all too frequent which makes it a vulnerable species in many places still this formidable bird of prey has adapted to its circumstances making it the true lord of the iberian night these are our minions reborn from day to day each new sundown brings us the fruit ripened under the Sun which we mow down under the cover of night this is our realm you you

Channel: New Atlantis Full Documentaries

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Keywords: eagleowl, owl, wolwes, toads, frogs, species, Toad, Frog, Princess

Id: 34W0LbwYlms

Length: 52min 5sec (3125 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 20 2011