The Night Hooters!

Hoot! Hoot! Who goes there?

A solitary, spotted gray owl struts on his golden feet,

Dancing in the early hours of an ice-cold morning,

His razor sharp claws grasp a field mouse,

The crimson blood oozes out of its weakened and moving prey, a meal for the hunter.

The owl's round, yellow, and nocturnal eyes twinkle, as he climbs and descends a hundred-year-old muvule tree,

He howls again, excited, calling for his hidden companion to a fresh meal.

From the deep green branches, a dirty brown spotted female owl emerges, 

Its sharp and hooked beak, menacing.

Her right leg carries a blue badge,

It was once a laboratory owl at one of the largest universities in the world. 

The owl's left eye is half open, permanently damaged,

A merciless signature of man's quest to experiment, use wildlife as guinea pigs and poach wildlife for his valuable trophies. 

The female owl flies at the sound of a previous whistle, its wide wings flying in silence,

A moth of dull colour flies in the shadow, lounging in the silver moonlight,

The rustle of a dying mouse turns on the hungry newcomer,

A sharp beak tears up the soft flesh of the mouse, bits of minced meat for the victor,

The owls had flown two thousand miles from Europe to the tropical paradise on the Equator, to mate and raise the next generation of oysters,

Owls now live in urban areas, isolated from their old green forests and grasslands,

With their declining food supply in the wild, most have migrated to suburban centres, 

Human use of toxic chemicals and spills within watersheds have made their lives an impossibility, 

The beautiful hooters now live in precarious conditions, competing with humans for food and shelter. 

It's a real standoff, a call from the wild,

Sprawling populations have disturbed the delicate ecosystem, changing the four elements: land, fire, water and air. 

Today, owls live in deserted, fumigated and dusty homes, 

Their lifespan is short, some owls are now stunted and lay deformed eggs while others are sterile, most of them now live in captivity, or as lab owls for elites. 

Owls lost this game a long time ago, as humans are a ruthless creature of habit,

It's a survival game for the strongest!