Population Threats Home Range and Distribution Habitat Nesting and Brood Rearing Population Threats Management References Pictures Links While burrowing owls have been known to excavate their own burrows (Voous, 1988), for the most part they rely on the recently occupied burrows of other species. Unfortunately, such species, namely the black-tailed prairie dog, are considered to be pests by state and national governments. The policies presently in place to eradicate these species are extremely detrimental to the burrowing owl. Reducing the number of prairie dogs, for example, creates a shortage of owl breeding habitat. Furthermore, owls are affected directly by accidental poisonings and the gassing of burrows in attempts to kill prairie dogs. These policies have created declining and locally extinct populations in the United States and South America (Voous, 1988, Pezzolesi, 1994). Tierra Del Fuego populations have vanished, apparently due to the trampling of their burrows by sheep introduced by early colonists (Voous, 1988). Policies designed for the extirpation of burrowing rodent species burrowing owls rely on for food and breeding habitat must be changed or abolished in order to stabilize or increase owl numbers.