Owls, cats and bats are frequently seen as symbols of Halloween, but what about them gives them this spooky reputation? Since they are all active during the night and due to some unique adaptations, they carry an air of mystery. Let’s unveil these mysteries and discover some facts about our night dwelling friends.

spooky species mythbusters.jpg — Images via Pixabay (Great Grey Owl) and Unsplash (Jack O’Lanterns, Cougar, Bat)

Owls

For a long time people have had a strange fascination with owls. They are deeply embedded in lore and legend. Many see owls as a symbol of wisdom, while others see them as a dark omen. Many cultures believe that owls can be an omen of death. For the Nêhiyawak and Nîhithaw (Plains and Woodland Cree people) the boreal owl call is believed to be a call from the spirits. If one was to answer the call with a whistle and not get a response, it would mean their death was impending. The Romans also had a similar belief - it is believed that the deaths of many Roman figures were predicted by the sudden appearance of owls, including Julius Caesar.

Their large piercing eyes, silent flight, and eerie calls during the night can make for quite a fright – not to mention their almost unnatural ability to twist their heads.

Can owls really turn their heads all the way around?

Although owls cannot turn their head 360°, they CAN turn their heads 270° in either direction, which is still incredible! So why do owls need to turn their heads so far? Because they don’t have eyeballs! Their eyes are more like long tubes that remain stationary in their head - they can’t roll or move around like ours. Instead, owls have adapted incredibly flexible necks.

Will eating owl eggs give you better eyesight?

Some believe that since owls have such great eyesight, eating an owl’s eggs will give you better eyesight. Unfortunately, this is just a myth.

Are the tufts on some owls’ heads ears?

No! Like other birds, owls have open holes for ears located on the sides of their heads. Of the 225 extant species of owls only 50 have ear tufts. Alberta’s Provincial Bird, the Great Horned Owl (pictured above) is part of this minority. So if they aren’t ears, what do these “ear tufts” do? Firstly, they help to camouflage. When an owl is perched in a tree, the tufts break up the recognizable shape of a circular face. Second, they help them to communicate silently. When owls are flying together, instead of calling out, they can signal by raising their tufts. Lastly, raising these tufts also helps to make them look bigger to scare off rivals.

EALT helps to preserve old growth forests, such as Boisverts Greenwoods, which provide excellent habitat for many owl species. We, along with our amazing volunteers, have worked to install owl nest boxes in six of our lands. These owl nest boxes help to provide more nesting sites and boost Saw-whet owl populations.

Owls are an important part of the food web and help to control rodent populations. To learn more about some of our local owls and how you can help protect them, click here.

Cats

Domestic cats have historically been associated with witches and the occult, but what about their more ferocious cousins? Alberta is home to three species of wild cats: cougars, lynx, and the bobcat. On the west coast of Canada and the U.S., some Indigenous tribes believe that seeing or hearing the screams of a cougar is an evil omen. In many tribes cougars are also believed to be associated with witchcraft.

Let’s dispel some of the myths surrounding wild cats.

Is the Pixie-Bob a hybrid of the bobcat and domestic cat?

There are various cat breeds that are descended from hybrids of domestic cats and wild cats, such as the Bengal and the Chausie. Unfortunately, no DNA evidence has been found to support any relation of pixie-bobs to bobcats, or the existence of any bobcat-domestic cat hybrids. However, the original breeder claims Pixie-bobs came from naturally occurring pairings of bobcats and domestic cats.

Do lynx suck the blood of their prey?

When hunting, Lynx commonly target the throat of their prey. In the Balkans, Germany, and the Alps, this led to a misconception that these large cats were sucking blood! Thankfully you don’t have to worry about blood sucking cats. Although most of the time wild cats will not attack humans, it’s best to stay in groups and make lots of noise to be safe from cougars. You can read more about Alberta’s three wildcats in our blog post: lynx cougar or bobcat.

Bats

Bats are the classic symbol of Halloween, but how did they get such a spooky reputation? Unfortunately, a few species give the group a bad rep. This leads us to our first myth.

Do bats suck blood?

There are nine species of bats in Alberta, and none of them feed on blood. There are only three species of bats alive today that feed on blood. They are the common vampire bat, the hairy-legged vampire bat, and the white-winged vampire bat. Vampire bats are commonly found throughout South America and in parts of Central America, the farthest north any of these species reside in Mexico. Technically there are no species of bat that suck blood; Instead, the vampire bats cut prey with their razor-sharp teeth and proceed to lap up the blood.

When Spanish people first saw bats feeding off the blood of livestock in the Americas they immediately connected the bats to the European legend of vampires. Bats remained loosely connected to vampires up until the 1890s when Bram Stoker’s release of his novel “Dracula” cemented the association in the eye of the public.

Are bats blind? Is this why they need echolocation?

Contrary to the old adage “Blind as a bat,” bats are not blind at all. In fact, some species of bats don’t even use echolocation, including many fruit eating bats! Some of the larger fruit eating bats have been shown to have 3 times the visual acuity of humans! A study published in Current Biology suggests that the species who do echolocate use sight in tandem with echolocation. A study done in 2005 showed that brown long-eared bats were more successful in searching for food when only given visual cues as opposed to only sonar cues, suggesting that they may rely on their sight more than their echolocation.

Do all bats carry rabies?

Contrary to public perception, most bats do not have rabies; in fact, less than ½ of 1% of bats will carry the disease. However, if you suspect you have been bitten or scratched by a bat, or if you wake up with a bat in your bedroom, it is still important to be treated. Rabies is completely preventable if treated in time, but any risk of exposure must be taken seriously.

Although these misconceptions may give bats a bad reputation, bats are an important part of Alberta’s ecosystem. They play a key role in controlling insect populations, including mosquitos. Due to loss of habitat the number of roosting sites for bats has declined dramatically. This has caused several species of bats in Alberta to become listed as endangered federally. The forests EALT works to conserve provide habitat for bats. To help build up bat populations EALT builds bat boxes, which serve to create new roosting sites. Each bat box can hold hundreds of bats at the same time! Click here to learn more about bats and how you can become involved in their conservation.

Fun Facts: Spooky Species MythBusters