Generally, people associate baby animals with spring weather. After a long, cold winter, many animals start their families when temperatures improve. As new leaves form on trees and green shoots sprout up, both predator and prey species give new life to the next generation.

But there’s one familiar woodland animal that has a different strategy: they start a family in the snow! Great horned owls lay eggs in the dead of winter, usually in late December or early January. They huddle on a nest of twigs and branches to keep their eggs — and the resulting chicks — warm.

These magnificent predators must work in a paired team to successfully raise a clutch of up to six owlets in these harsh conditions. They hunt in shifts, bringing back prey to the partner who is keeping the nest at the proper temperature.

Great horned owls share this behavior with their distant cousins, penguins, who also raise chicks in snowy regions. This adaption means that when the young owlets fledge, or leave the nest, at nine weeks of age, the other animals have provided lots of prey in the form of all those new babies.

The parents usually continue to feed their owlets even after they’ve left the nest. Some have been observed feeding their offspring all the way into the fall months.

As our largest native raptor (or bird of prey), great horned owls hunt a variety of small animals, including squirrels, chipmunks, voles, shrews, rabbits, frogs, snakes, rats, mice and smaller birds — even other owls! They also feed on young foxes, raccoons, rabbits and opossums.

The great horned owl is one of the apex predators of our forest. The only creature it has to fear predation from are other great horned owls once it reaches maturity.

Because of their voracious and varied appetite, people often fear this owl. While they can be quite aggressive and will defend themselves if attacked on the ground, great horned owls are incapable of carrying off anything but the smallest of pets.

These owls only weigh about four pounds at most. Rumors of large owls preying on dogs and adult cats are highly exaggerated. It is physically impossible for them to carry prey any larger than themselves.

Like all raptors, owls are protected by federal law. Attempts to hurt or harass them will result in heavy fines or even jail time. For the owls’ safety and your own, admire these fierce forest guardians from a safe distance!