The European Eagle Owl is the largest of the world’s owls. They are immensely powerful birds and like the their daytime counterparts the eagles they are capable of preying larger mammals such as fox and young deer although they tend to take smaller animals such as rabbits. They do not tolerate other birds of prey however and have been known to kill birds such as buzzards, goshawks and other owls.

European Eagle Owls are highly adaptable and inhabit a variety of natural environments ranging from the pine forests of Scandinavia down through the mixed woodlands of Middle Europe and even down to the Mediterranean. It is this adaptability combined with being a top predator with few natural enemies that have enabled the European Eagle Owl to be so successful. However like most other birds of prey its numbers are in decline due to environmental impacts such as habitat loss through forestry. If young owls survive through their first year they can look forward to living a life of up to 20 years in the wild and captive bred European Eagle Owls can reach 60 years old.