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When you hear the word predator, you rarely associate the term with cute. Nature provides exceptions, however, one of which is the Burrowing Owl. It’s hard to think of a tiny animal with an angry glare as anything but endearing. If you’ve seen its death stare, you know what I mean. The small round bird with an apparent temper is too charismatic not to love.

The Burrowing Owl is the only owl species in the world that nests underground. It is ecologically dependent on burrows. Prairie dogs, badgers, foxes, ground squirrels, tortoises, and sometimes armadillos create burrows that the owls then usurp when abandoned. (Burrowing Owls in Florida and the Caribbean are the exception; since they live in places without burrowing rodents, they dig their own burrows.) The species evolved in prairies and other environments with few trees, so it developed the ability to take advantage of underground burrows that are typically prevalent in its habitat. Nesting in burrows also protects the small birds from larger predators.

While we humans are drawn to this small owl, we have also caused lots of problems for it by altering its habitat and reducing the numbers of prairie dogs and other animals that burrow. Though no one knows the owl’s total population size, the species has been declining for decades. Fortunately, for about 30 years, scientists