Can a Eurasian eagle-owl kill a rabbit?
Dietary biology of the Eurasian eagle-owl
In the Iberian peninsula, the Eurasian eagle-owl is part of a complex guild of predators that have evolved to survive mostly on European rabbits. Among this guild, golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) were recorded per one study to rely on rabbits for 40% of the diet, the eagle-owl for 49% of the diet, the Spanish imperial eagle (Aquila adalberti) for 50% of the diet, the Bonelli's eagle (Aquila fasciata) for 61% of the diet and the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) for 79% of the diet.[2] Elsewhere, the Spanish imperial eagle and eagle-owl are considered to outflank the golden and even the Bonelli's eagle as the most specialized avian predator of rabbits in the Iberian region.[13] Other predators, such as common buzzard (Buteo buteo), northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) black kite (Milvus migrans) Iberian wildcat (Felis silvestris tartessia), red fox, stone marten (Martes foina) and introduced Egyptian mongoose also prey heavily on rabbits in Spain, but are more generalized and less reliant than the above predators.[117][118][119][120] All these powerful predators do not generally compete directly for food but conflicts may ensue over the rights to territories and nesting sites amongst the birds. Being nocturnal in activity, however, the Eurasian eagle-owl does not tend to compete as directly as do the three eagle species and even these are discreetly segregated by habitat preferences, the goldens preferring open, steep cliffs, the Bonelli's favoring densely vegetated areas mixed with rocky spots and the imperial favoring relatively flat open woodlands.[121] Among these eagles, the golden eagle tends to have the most similar habitat preferences to the Eurasian eagle-owl and across a broad band of overlapping distribution, the two are considered nearly ecological equivalents by day and night. However, good-sized female golden eagles are up to twice as heavy as an average eagle-owl, so seem to have a considerable advantage in size and power.[2] Conversely, to support their large size and large territory needs, the golden eagle cannot survive on small and diverse prey nearly as successfully as the eagle-owl. Among the Iberian peninsula rabbit-eating guild, the species with wider ranges, the eagle-owl and the golden and Bonelli's eagles, have had some degree of success living off of alternate prey following the devastation of the rabbit population due to rabbit haemorrhagic disease. The two rabbit predators endemic to Iberia, the Iberian lynx and Spanish imperial eagle, have been devastated by the reduction and other causes and both are threatened species today.[122][123][124][125]
Verreaux's eagle-owl
On average, sexual maturity in Verreaux's eagle-owls appears to be attained at three to four years of age. In most cases, a pair of Verreaux's eagle-owl is able to nest annually, however in some cases they may nest only every two to three years, in probable situations of extreme food shortages. Annual mortality appears to be fairly low in this large owl species. Few species have been reported to hunt Verreaux's eagle-owls short of the aforementioned jackal attack, even nests have rarely been seen to be predated, although they may on rare occasions run afoul of some predators such as larger felids with the ability to climb, although such cases are as yet unverified. That young birds usually leave the nest before they can fly would appear to endanger them but the threat and distraction display of parent eagle-owls are apparently often successful. Adult eagle-owls can appear nearly fearless, as they have been reported to stand their ground and engage in threat displays when encountered on or near the ground against much larger animals such as rhinoceroses and lions and in such cases are apparently not approached further by the bigger animals although the eagle-owls could easily be killed by such animals if contact was made. The lifespan in the wild is not known to have been researched, however in captivity the species can live for over 15 years, possibly up to 30 years in some cases.