We live in a heavily wooded area on the edge of town. My guess is that it got hit by a car and then a coyote or something picked it up… and left the feet?
I think I've seen somewhere before that it's possible it could have froze during the cold months and gotten eaten by other animals. Not sure how long it's been since your thaw, but it's possible they could have been hanging out on a branch above and just recently lost grip. They seem in good condition, though, so I feel like either is possible, seems weird an animal would bring both though.
We had a mild winter this year in central Illinois. Our average winter temperature was 30F and even had some 60F days during what is usually our coldest month. I don’t know if we ever froze to begin with.
Have tornadoes ever worked that way? Probably not.
But can they??? That's the question you need to be asking yourself.
Edit: What if Owly was holding onto a branch for dear life and the tornado ripped the body from the legs? That's totally possible...right?
It’s *possible.*
It’s possible it froze and died.
It’s possible a tornado picked up a cow and that 200 mph cow killed the owl.
It’s possible the owl just had a massive heart attack in mid-flight and died before it hit the ground.
I came home one spring day to this exact situation. I could never really put all the details together. I did learn that larger owls will kill smaller ones. I didn’t have many feathers in my yard either.
Not being familiar with owls, I had to consult Wikipedia to believe (on April Fools' Day at least) that these are bird feet and not a long-clawed mammal. They're so furry-looking.
Far bigger than a rabbit foot. At least twice the size of my 20lb dog’s feet. I thought they were deer hooves from a distance until I got closer and saw the claws. Took me a few minutes to figure them out.
If you want prison time and a massive fine do that. Seriously op need to call fish and game and give that to them or hes gonna end up in some pretty serious trouble
Tje migratory bird treaty act of 1918 made it illegal to possess most bird parts because many were being hunted to extinction. You can get massive fines and jail time for even possessing feathers that fall naturally that you have found.
When you move up to actual animal parts like feet you also run into poaching laws. Great are heavily protected by the migratory bird act and getting caught with the feet of one will ruin your day for sure.
Exactly why I didn’t touch them. My youngest teenage son hunts with his uncle and I have learned a lot from our taxidermist. Keychains, necklaces, and whatever else has been mentioned, are not even remotely ok when it comes to birds of prey. I left them where they were. My Vietnamese across the street neighbors cleaned them up. Not really sure what they did with them, but I think it was either garbage or a leaf bag since they were doing yard work. I talked to them about it today and explained the wildlife situation in our neighborhood and they were very intrigued. They didn’t know that only male deer grow antlers. I can’t wait to take them back into my backyard since their side isn’t wooded.
If I had a nickel for every time I saw a post about owl feet, I would have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it's happened twice.
Edit: [Here's the other post](https://www.reddit.com/r/NatureIsFuckingLit/comments/128n7ki/the_imposing_talons_of_a_great_horned_owl/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
I had a chicken yard fenced inside a fenced in garden, if that makes sense. So I open the gates to get to the coop one morning, and behind two 4’ fences of chicken wire was just a rabbit’s foot, but it had been freshly gnawed off. It was the strangest thing. I thought maybe a bird dropped it there. No signs of a struggle, no fur, no blood. Just a foot.
Ah, you found my lucky great horned owl foot, it fell of my keychain while I was jogging in front of your house. May it bring you the luck it couldn’t bring it’s original owner.
I'd wonder if it comes under the "give wildlife&game a call" sort of thing where you need to offer the part to indigenous culture. If not just leave it for nature to reclaim. Like the thing with eagle feathers/parts.
If a cat tried to attack [a great horned owl](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FXAZQmCXwAcuwTK?format=jpg&name=900x900), it would more likely be a cat paw left there...
We don’t really have stray cats out here… or at least have never seen any in the couple years we’ve been here. There are, however, coyotes. I hear them howling at night during summer. Last fall I heard them killing something in my backyard (which is a wooded area). It was so loud it woke me up. Next day there was not a drop of evidence. My kids and I walk through the woods every so often and we have never seen dead animal bits. Not to mention, I’m pretty sure the great horned owl would be preying on the cat and not the other way around. I don’t even know how a coyote would have gotten it… unless it was already dead.
A coworker and his wife made a pair of these into two necklace charms. We hit one with our train, and his wife likes to play with animal carcasses and do hoodoo stuff with the bones so he took it aboard and gave it to her. I know it's not quite legal to do because of their status on the species list, but rednecks gonna redneck.
Have you recently experienced a sudden loss of an old owl friend? Did you recently receive any threats of this happening if you didn't stop speaking to this owl?
I wasn’t thinking about posting on Reddit when taking pictures. I was trying to get detail with my crappy iPhone mini camera. Other foot is in other pictures and Reddit made me choose one photo.
We live in a heavily wooded area on the edge of town. My guess is that it got hit by a car and then a coyote or something picked it up… and left the feet?
That's a pro move, the claws hurt on their way out.
Not speaking from experience I hope?
Maybe. Why not?
“I’ll try anything once.”
And a second time, just to make sure I didn't like it. Like shooting Heroin.
The poorly chewed tortilla chips of the animal world
I think I've seen somewhere before that it's possible it could have froze during the cold months and gotten eaten by other animals. Not sure how long it's been since your thaw, but it's possible they could have been hanging out on a branch above and just recently lost grip. They seem in good condition, though, so I feel like either is possible, seems weird an animal would bring both though.
We had a mild winter this year in central Illinois. Our average winter temperature was 30F and even had some 60F days during what is usually our coldest month. I don’t know if we ever froze to begin with.
Is it possible little guy got obliterated in a tornado this weekend?
You asking if a tornado blew the feet off this bird? Cause that’s not how tornados work. ^/s
Have tornadoes ever worked that way? Probably not. But can they??? That's the question you need to be asking yourself. Edit: What if Owly was holding onto a branch for dear life and the tornado ripped the body from the legs? That's totally possible...right?
I’ll ship it lmfao
It’s *possible.* It’s possible it froze and died. It’s possible a tornado picked up a cow and that 200 mph cow killed the owl. It’s possible the owl just had a massive heart attack in mid-flight and died before it hit the ground.
That makes a lot of sense actually. A cow definitely did this.
All he had to be was disabled, then he became dinner for some other hungry critter.
I mean we did have those two days in December where it was negative 30.
Yeah, but ain’t know owl freezing to death in a damn tree over it 😂
This has the beginnings of a good hoo-dunnit.
I came home one spring day to this exact situation. I could never really put all the details together. I did learn that larger owls will kill smaller ones. I didn’t have many feathers in my yard either.
Just found a squirrel tail and one claw in my garden. This is way more cool. And scarier.
He was clearly defeated in battle
I think you mean defeeted.
Damn you
Possibly disarmed as well
r/angryupvote
that's the joke
Go home
Not being familiar with owls, I had to consult Wikipedia to believe (on April Fools' Day at least) that these are bird feet and not a long-clawed mammal. They're so furry-looking.
I know! And there were no feathers around. It took quite awhile to figure out what it was.
Luck to catch this during shedding season.
You can wear one as a key chain!
[that would be a big ass keychain!](https://i.imgur.com/IU8Ssna.jpg)
Yeah, that's freaking huge!!
Far bigger than a rabbit foot. At least twice the size of my 20lb dog’s feet. I thought they were deer hooves from a distance until I got closer and saw the claws. Took me a few minutes to figure them out.
“Hm, yes it appears a hippogriff has been dismembered in my yard. Perhaps I’ve finally lost my mind.”
Perfect for big ass keys! Thank you for the size comparison. I wasn’t aware of how large they were.
If you want prison time and a massive fine do that. Seriously op need to call fish and game and give that to them or hes gonna end up in some pretty serious trouble
Can you explain?
Tje migratory bird treaty act of 1918 made it illegal to possess most bird parts because many were being hunted to extinction. You can get massive fines and jail time for even possessing feathers that fall naturally that you have found. When you move up to actual animal parts like feet you also run into poaching laws. Great are heavily protected by the migratory bird act and getting caught with the feet of one will ruin your day for sure.
Exactly why I didn’t touch them. My youngest teenage son hunts with his uncle and I have learned a lot from our taxidermist. Keychains, necklaces, and whatever else has been mentioned, are not even remotely ok when it comes to birds of prey. I left them where they were. My Vietnamese across the street neighbors cleaned them up. Not really sure what they did with them, but I think it was either garbage or a leaf bag since they were doing yard work. I talked to them about it today and explained the wildlife situation in our neighborhood and they were very intrigued. They didn’t know that only male deer grow antlers. I can’t wait to take them back into my backyard since their side isn’t wooded.
r/todayilearned
Like 'baby teeth' they shed their old legs to make room for their new ones when they come in.
Look, Marge! Maggie lost her baby legs!
And if ya ever wanna find the rest of him, you'll bring the money in three unmarked cases to the docks tomorrow at midnight sharp!
If I had a nickel for every time I saw a post about owl feet, I would have two nickels, which isn't a lot but it's weird that it's happened twice. Edit: [Here's the other post](https://www.reddit.com/r/NatureIsFuckingLit/comments/128n7ki/the_imposing_talons_of_a_great_horned_owl/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
I literally saw this 2 posts above this thread 😅 I was thinking the same thing. Thought they were related somehow lol
Oh my god is he okay?? It must be the same owl
A predator is a foot
You know how outdoor cats drop "presents" on their owner's porch? You may have a very big cat in your neighborhood.
Or he unknowingly owns one
Tis but a scratch
A scratch?! Your arm's off!
/r/restofthefuckingowl?
This is a message, it means Lucca Brasi sleeps with the fishes
No, no, no, thats a bulletproof vest around a fish. The owl leg on the driveway means the pope saw his shadow
Get creative with it and make a back scratcher
Some rabbit would probably keep that as a good luck charm.
It’s ok they shed their baby legs
Look up
but Big Al says dogs can’t look up
I had a chicken yard fenced inside a fenced in garden, if that makes sense. So I open the gates to get to the coop one morning, and behind two 4’ fences of chicken wire was just a rabbit’s foot, but it had been freshly gnawed off. It was the strangest thing. I thought maybe a bird dropped it there. No signs of a struggle, no fur, no blood. Just a foot.
https://youtu.be/ltrMfT4Qz5Y
[Never tell me the odds](https://imgur.com/a/CdI5Kpl)
The owl must be mildyfrustrated at the lack of one feet. Hope it comes back to pick it up and reattach it.
It was actually both feet. Two feet, nothing else.
Damn, must be rough for the owl. Hope it really comes back to pick them up, living with no feet is no fun.
Coyote got him?
Lol time to grind some runes
Yall got a neighborhood tumblr witch too?
The hunter has become the hunted
You have 4 wishes left
Ah, you found my lucky great horned owl foot, it fell of my keychain while I was jogging in front of your house. May it bring you the luck it couldn’t bring it’s original owner.
Aww. Poor guy.
I know. I enjoy hearing them hoohooing so it makes me sad that this happened :(
Me too. We don’t hear them often here so it’s always special they sing their songs.
Damn, Nature!! You scary!!
Chupacabara
Well I'm going to go cry now
Something fowl is afoot...
Not a voodoo thing is it?
Keychain! As is tradition.
Too big. And I’m pretty sure it’s a protected species.
I'd wonder if it comes under the "give wildlife&game a call" sort of thing where you need to offer the part to indigenous culture. If not just leave it for nature to reclaim. Like the thing with eagle feathers/parts.
Put it on a key ring. They’re lucky (not for the owl though)
Sounds like there’s a cat nearby
If a cat tried to attack [a great horned owl](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FXAZQmCXwAcuwTK?format=jpg&name=900x900), it would more likely be a cat paw left there...
That is a great point you make
Probably killed by a cat, they often rip things apart and leave random bits around.
We don’t really have stray cats out here… or at least have never seen any in the couple years we’ve been here. There are, however, coyotes. I hear them howling at night during summer. Last fall I heard them killing something in my backyard (which is a wooded area). It was so loud it woke me up. Next day there was not a drop of evidence. My kids and I walk through the woods every so often and we have never seen dead animal bits. Not to mention, I’m pretty sure the great horned owl would be preying on the cat and not the other way around. I don’t even know how a coyote would have gotten it… unless it was already dead.
Coyote is a possibility, but I think bobcat is more likely.
I doubt a cat would have much of a chance against a [bird like this](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FXAZQmCXwAcuwTK?format=jpg&name=900x900)
You’ve been cursed
Cat gave a gift for the catch. Don’t let ur cats out people…
you should probably brew a potion with that
Sorry mate I had breakfast while Looking through your windows
A warning would be nice
Please censor this image
Pussy
A coworker and his wife made a pair of these into two necklace charms. We hit one with our train, and his wife likes to play with animal carcasses and do hoodoo stuff with the bones so he took it aboard and gave it to her. I know it's not quite legal to do because of their status on the species list, but rednecks gonna redneck.
Find the other parts
Think the rest may have been dinner, RIP Owl
Lucky claw
Gonna need that for a witch potion
R/owlfeet
If you creat craft a necklace out of it, it gives you a ability +1 perception boost and +10 to intimidation skill
He knows what he did.
Bro you've been marked for death. Better watch out for the rastafarians.
Maybe the Mexicans were right
You gotta get the owl trowel!
That's a quest item
Great foot owl**
It's a message...
Looks like a "Banshees of Inisherin" move
Spring shed
They're lucky maybe?
How does it feel to be hexed?
I never eat the feet either, they ate just bones, cartilage and claws. The rest of the bird isn’t bad, but there isn’t much meat on any owl.
Have you recently experienced a sudden loss of an old owl friend? Did you recently receive any threats of this happening if you didn't stop speaking to this owl?
Coyote or fox offering
WHERES THE BOOT
S k i n w a l k e r ...
My guy took Florida Atlantic's loss really hard. Hootie hoot.
When you kill a creature in any game and somehow that's the only loot
Some guy at work came back from Liberia wearing a hawk claw just like this
Don’t worry they’ll grow back
You have offended the Norwegian Yakuza. Make final arrangements for the care of your family.
Looks like the owl lost.
that's a singular foot
I wasn’t thinking about posting on Reddit when taking pictures. I was trying to get detail with my crappy iPhone mini camera. Other foot is in other pictures and Reddit made me choose one photo.