One of Yosemite’s iconic Great Gray Owls was struck and fatally wounded bya vehicle on highway 41 the morning of Friday, August 10, 2012. The Great Gray Owl research team banded her as a mature adult in 2007, making her at least 8 years-old at the time of her death.
This Great Gray Owl was unusually productive, as she nested and successfully raised young during five of the past seven years. Considering that Yosemite Great Gray Owls are known to be infrequent nesters, typically nesting only in years when their small mammal prey are especially abundant, this was a very impressive feat. This particular female successfully incubated, defended, and raised an amazing nine juvenile Great Gray Owls to fledging during her five known nesting attempts, including two this spring. Only the most diligent and experienced Great Gray Owls are successful in raising young. It takes an average of two months for Great Gray Owl juveniles to fledge, including a one-month period when the female remains almost entirely stationary, incubating the eggs atop a nest tree snag, often completely exposed to the elements. This female owl was by far the most productive nesting Great Gray Owl ever documented in Yosemite. The male Great Gray Owl from this territory is now tasked with feeding and caring for the two juveniles without the help of his long-term mate.
This incident is a reminder that we as park employees must all slow down on Yosemite roads for both our own safety and for wildlife, and instruct park visitors to do the same when we interact with them. While the loss of a single Great Gray Owl might seem insignificant, we must remember that exceptionally productive individuals such as the female that was recently killed may be disproportionately important to the health of the California population as a whole. Great Gray Owls are an endangered species with only an estimated 200 individuals in the entire state of California. Yosemite’s meadows provide the core of their breeding range. Unfortunately, this incident is not a rare event, as NPS and USFS biologists have documented over a dozen Great Gray Owl vehicle mortalities over the past ten years. In order to ensure the well-being and survival of the majestic Great Gray Owl and other endangered Yosemite wildlife, please remember to slow down on mountain roads, particularly near meadows and other areas where wildlife tends to concentrate.