Snowy Owls are Officially on the Struggle Bus 🦉📉

The Deets

Alright, listen up, eco-warriors. Word on the street is that the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) just dropped a bombshell: snowy owls are officially threatened. And get this, their numbers have dipped over 40% in like, 24 years. That’s sus.

So, why the major L for our feathery friends? Turns out, it's a whole mess of stuff, but we're the main villains in this story. Climate change is straight-up wrecking their food supply, those cute lil' lemmings they love to munch on. The snow's not hitting the same, which means less lemmings. And less lemmings equals sad, hungry owls.

But wait, there’s more! On top of the climate drama, these owls are dealing with habitat loss (thanks, development), getting zapped by power lines (sketchy!), getting squished by cars (oof!), and even getting poisoned by the rodenticides we use on farms (major yikes!). Avian flu ain't helping either. Basically, we're making it impossible for them to thrive.

The experts are saying we need to get our act together, like, yesterday. That means chilling with the harsh rodent control, getting sustainable with the farming, and, like, tackling climate change head-on. It ain't gonna be easy, but it's gotta be done.

Now, the government is supposed to drop a response within 90 days, so keep your eyes peeled for that. And Quebec is also gonna peep the situation to see how the owls are doing there. Hopefully, they realize we need more data, stat! Snowy owls are essential for keeping the ecosystem balanced, and if they dip, everything else is gonna be off too.

And can we talk about how many owls are getting injured because of our shenanigans? It's so sad! Some of them can't even go back to the wild and have to live in zoos and refuges forever. Let's do better, fam. Save the snowy owls!