Short-Eared Owl Project

The project is embedded within the Floreana Ecological Restoration Project, a multi‑partner effort led by the Galápagos National Park Directorate, and co‑executed by Fundación Jocotoco, Island Conservation, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, and the Charles Darwin Foundation, with strong support from local communities and international allies. This initiative aims to eradicate invasive rats, mice, and feral cats - the primary drivers of native species decline - and reintroduce 12 locally extinct endemic species as Floreana’s ecosystem recovers.

Our team has been capturing, tracking, and monitoring over 100 short‑eared owls on Floreana and neighbouring islands to establish behavioural baselines and community dynamics in an ecosystem undergoing profound change. Prior to and during invasive predator control actions, owls were rescued and temporarily housed in captive safeguarding to prevent secondary poisoning risk. Once eradication is considered safe, all individuals are released back to the island with GPS tags and accelerometers that transmit data via the growing Sigfox antenna network across the archipelago as part of the ICARUS global tracking system. This allows us to monitor fine‑scale movement, habitat use, and how owls adjust to the rewilded landscape in near–real time.

By integrating long‑term population monitoring with bio‑logging data, this project uniquely reveals how a key native predator navigates a restored environment. From hunting shifts as natural prey communities rebound to range expansions across a recovering Floreana. These insights are not only essential for understanding owl ecology in a restored Galápagos ecosystem, but also provide a powerful model for integrating high‑tech movement ecology into large‑scale restoration and conservation strategies globally.