Wildlife on the Brink: Mexican Spotted Owl

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Strix occidentalis lucida

STATUS: Threatened

HABITAT: Old-growth forests in canyons and mountains

LIFE HISTORY: Nocturnal. Prefers nests in high, closed canopies of old-growth forests; often utilizes nests abandoned by other species. Juveniles fledge at four weeks, but typically leave nest before they can fly, making survivorship low.

THREATS: Oil, gas and other development; logging

RANGE: Southwestern U.S., from southern Utah to western Texas

CURRENT POPULATION: 2,000

These dark-eyed owls have trouble tolerating high temperatures, which could explain why they seek out cool nesting sites in thickly shaded old-growth forest or deep canyons.

Roughly 2,000 Mexican spotted owls remain in the United States, scattered from southern Utah to western Texas. Like the related California and Northern spotted owls, the Mexican owl has lost precious living space to logging and development as well as destructive livestock grazing. Today, almost all the owl's remaining habitat is located on federal land. The Mexican spotted owl was listed as a threatened species in 1993.

In 2002, NRDC and other environmental groups successfully sued the Bureau of Land Management for approving natural gas exploration near Arches National Park in Utah—habitat for both the Mexican spotted owl and the black-footed ferret—without completing a proper environmental review.

Photo: Mexican spotted owl © USFWS