For the barn owl, loss of farms to housing and shopping malls is removing their needed habitat. For other raptor species, critical shoreline and riparian zone habitats are rapidly converted by expanding human communities and agricultural needs. Shooting and trapping are also lowering raptor numbers. It's only a matter of time until more raptor species may face extinction, unless we take measures to protect their habitats. Humans need raptors.
Raptors help keep animal populations in balance.
Raptors consume many animals that humans consider as pests, including mice, rats and destructive species of insects. This helps to control disease and damage to crops. As top predators of their food chain, raptors are an indicator species of the overall health of the ecosystem in which they live. Of equal importance, witnessing wild raptors enriches each of our lives. Imagine what life would be like if we could no longer hear the haunting evening call of the owl.