2 THE ANIMAL WORLD IS FULL OF PREDATORS Predators are the hunters that find catch and eat other animals their prey in order to survive Every environment has its chain of hunters The smaller slower less able predators become part of the prey for the bigger faster more cunning hunters But everywhere just a few kinds of predators are at the top of the food chain These are the top predators In nearly every habitat of the world except Antarctica this group includes one or more kinds of owls Scientists currently list about 260 different kinds of owls Two of the largest are the Eurasian eagle owl and the great gray owl Eurasian eagle owls are found in woodlands grasslands deserts and mountainous areas throughout Europe Asia and northern Africa Great gray owls live in forests in North America Scandinavia Russia and Mongolia
3 GREAT GRAY OWL EURASIAN EAGLE OWL
4 EURASIAN EAGLE OWL
Why are Eurasian eagle owls and great gray owls top predators For one thing the adults are big Eagle owls may take prey as big as martens Great gray owls may kill rabbits Females are even bigger than the males but they're still light enough to fly An adult female Eurasian eagle owl has a body about 30 inches 75 cm long with a 6 foot 2 188 cm wingspan but only weighs about 5.9 pounds 2.7 kg An adult female great gray owl has a body about 33 inches 84 cm long with a 5 foot 152 cm wingspan but weighs about 2.8 pounds 1.3 kg 5
