Winters in the Arctic are long, cold, with no sunlight, and the snow has not completely melted by May. At this time of year, the snowy owl migrates back from afar and begins to "fall in love, get married, and have a baby", which is what every snowy owl must experience.
Some people don't know what kind of animal the snow owl is? In fact, the snow owl is a large owl that lives in the permafrost and tundra of the Arctic, some of which are snow-white and some of which are covered with spots on their snow-white feathers. The head is round, with a pair of yellow eyes and a black beak.
Snowy owls prefer to eat lemmings, occasionally preying on prey such as hares, gulls and ducks. American biologist Denver Holt found in the process of studying snowy owl that in the Arctic survival, snowy owl need about 500 grams of food per day, and hunting lemmings is easier than preying on seabirds.
The breeding of snow owls has a lot to do with the amount of food they eat, and Denver Holt says that snow owls lay an egg about every two days, and when food is plentiful, they can lay up to 12 eggs. During spawning and incubation, the male snowy owl will be responsible for predation, bringing back the lemmings as food.
But now the number of snow owls is getting smaller and smaller, and it is difficult to survive. A pair of snowy owls dug a pit on the slope to make a nest, laid eggs, and hatched two babies. One is called Dabao, and the other is called Xiaobao. The snowy owl mother had been waiting by their side, sometimes standing on the hillside looking into the distance, perhaps waiting for the snowy owl father to return. As soon as Daddy Snowy Owl returns, there's something to eat.
But after waiting for a long time, the snow owl father still did not come back. So the snowy owl mother decided to venture out to hunt. It pecked lightly at the two small snowy owls, making them wait obediently at home.
The snowy owl mother spread its wings, circled above, and flew away. The snowy owl mother is most worried about going out to hunt by herself, and the little snowy owl is at home alone, and will be attacked by predators such as stoats, arctic foxes, and skuas.
After "Mother" left, the two small snowy owls were in the nest, whispering, Dabao is stronger, Xiaobao is weaker, and after a while, they lie in the nest, and have no strength to move.
The mother snowy owl who went out was also anxious, searching in mid-air for a long time, but she had not found its prey. It was hard to find a brown lemming, known as a bird of prey, the snow owl showed a fierce side, flying rapidly from mid-air, its wings spread out into a beautiful posture, and its furry but sharp claws reached out to the lemming.
Before the lemming could understand what was going on, it was caught by the snowy owl, and its sharp claws pierced the lemming's body. The snowy owl mother did not delay for a moment and hurried home. After it landed, it put the lemming down, and Dabao happily opened his mouth and bit the lemming.
The snowy owl's mother soon realized that something was wrong, and Xiao Bao lay motionless in the nest. The snow owl's mother snatched the food from Dabao's mouth and turned around to feed Xiaobao first, but Xiaobao was so weak that she didn't even have the strength to open her mouth.
In order to eat the lemmings, the snow owl Dabao rushed to eat the food, and got the lemmings to swallow it. The snow owl mother gently pecked xiaobao with her mouth, trying to wake it up, and then picked up the small treasure and gently shook it, but it was still dying and could not respond to the mother's call.
The Snowy Owl's father still hasn't been able to catch food to go home, and in order to survive, the Snowy Owl's mother has to go out again to find food. Not long after the snowy owl mother left, a ferret emerged from the other end of the hillside, it saw two small snowy owls, after observing for a while, did not see the big snowy owl, creeping forward.
The Snow Owl Dabao sensed the danger, and the nature of survival made it quickly lie in the grass, not daring to make a sound, trying to hide itself in the grass. The petite, cute-looking stoat, revealing a fierce side, sped past, biting the weak and immobile snow owl treasure, and then quickly slipped away.
The white ferret was worried that the snowy owl mother would suddenly return, and although he was very hungry, he still grabbed the snow owl treasure and ran far away to eat in a secluded place. After the snow owl mother returned, she found that Xiao Bao was missing, circling in mid-air for a long time, where can I still find Xiao Bao?
After a few more days, the father of the snowy owl who had gone out hunting returned and brought back food, but only a small snowy owl remained. In addition to their grief, the Snow Owl couple can only hope to raise Dabao.
If the snow owl wants to survive in the Arctic, it will face many tests in nature.
The stoat is a member of the ferret family, slender and petite, the coat color changes with the seasons, the winter body is snow white, the tail end is black, and the characteristics are remarkable. This little guy is cute in appearance, but his temperament is alert and fierce, and he has a strong sense of territory. The ferret will rub its secretions around the territory and declare that the land is its own.
Despite its harmless appearance, it is a powerful hunting master, famous for "daring to fight with animals several times larger than himself". When it finds its prey, it will crawl forward, approach the prey, and then suddenly attack, biting the prey tightly with its long, pointed canine teeth.