The Blakiston’s fish owl (Ketupa blakistoni) is a charismatic, endangered species that resides in the old-growth river valleys of northeast Asia. Possibly the world’s largest owl, this aquatic prey specialist persists year-round in an environment largely frozen for months. In Russia, the bird’s habitat is under increasing threat from human development, primarily logging. A lack of the most basic ecological data prevents the development of conservation or habitat management plans for these birds.
This study, which is being conducted by University of Minnesota PhD student Jonathan Slaght, aims to develop a Blakiston’s fish owl conservation plan for Primorye, a province on the Sea of Japan in the Russian Far East. Jonathan intends to do this by understanding the ways Blakiston’s fish owls select resources, mapping Primorye to indicate areas of high probability-of-use by the owls, and formulating conservation recommendations for Blathe species. He tags the owls with GPS transmitters to monitor movements and resource use, and uses the resulting data to identify Blakiston's fish owl ‘hot spots’ in Primorye. Ultimately, this data will guide development of a species conservation plan. More information about this project is available at www.fishowls.com.
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