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The Snowy Owl

The Uppik [Snowy Owl] lives all year round in the Arctic. Its feathers are mostly white, and it has round, staring eyes.

Snowy owls have big sharp claws on their feet, which look like they could hurt a person. Their favourite food is the Avingngaq [lemming], but they can kill and eat bigger ani­mals, such as snowshoe rabbits and Arctic hares. A snowy owl can swallow a lemming whole. The only part they won’t eat is the stomach.

Artist: Annie Mikpiga Snowy owls are very patient birds. They will sit very still for a long time, waiting for a lemming to show up.

It is sometimes possible to fool a Snowy owl with an Uniujaq – a small piece of caribou skin tied to the end of a very long string. If a human drags the Uniujaq along the ground to simulate a lemming, the owl can fool itself into believing that it is a real lemming.

Sometimes the lemming population grows too big, and many lemmings get sick and die off. Then the Snowy owls have to fly far south to find other kinds of food.

Snowy owls make their nests on the ground in hilly areas. They lay 6 to 8 white, very round eggs, which look a bit like seagull eggs.

Excerpt from: Unikkaangualaurtaa (Let's Tell a Story)