Lead Poisoning in Wildlife: A Great Horned Owl at Gettysburg

From Gettysburg National Military Park.

Staff at Gettysburg National Military Park want the public to know how lead ammunition harms wildlife and the food chain.

The great horned owl on the Gettysburg battlefield. NPS.

The owl

In autumn 2021 the park received a report of a great horned owl behaving strangely. It stood on a rock in the southern part of the battlefield and would not, or could not, move when people approached. A volunteer from the West Shore Wildlife Center and the park biologist caught it safely and took it to the wildlife centre, where an examination found lead poisoning. Sadly, lead poisoning is not unusual in birds of prey and other wildlife.

Where the lead comes from

The lead comes from lead-core rifle bullets, used mostly by hunters and by people controlling nuisance animals. Legal hunting helps keep wildlife populations at sustainable levels and connects people with nature, but lead ammunition can seriously harm animals it was never aimed at.

• Fragments: a lead bullet that strikes an animal breaks into hundreds of tiny pieces.
• The food chain: the owl probably ate a small animal, or part of one, that had been shot with a lead bullet, swallowing the fragments.
• The fix: lead-free ammunition, which is growing in popularity and strongly encouraged.

Outlook

The owl was still being treated at the time of writing, and staff hoped for good news — but lead poisoning often has lasting effects even when an animal survives.

To learn more and find out how to help, see the lead information from Pinnacles National Park and the Wildlife Center of Virginia.

Sources

• National Park Service, Gettysburg National Military Park, "Wildlife and Lead Poisoning." https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/lead-poisoning.htm
• Rewritten in hubnx's own words.