You know you are not a nice person when

[Yogimus]

A redtailed hawk doesn't have the size or strength to carry off a dog, even a small one.

It could grip it by the husk!

[Wrenchbender1]

All I could think of when I read this was a bird chowing down on a rat dog like it was corn on the cob (Complete with typewriter noises).

[First Shirt]

There's a great horned owl that nests somewhere behind the house, and when we let the little dog out after dark, she goes with an armed escort. Only took one near-miss to convince The Boss that it was a good idea.

Don't know about red-tails in other areas, but the ones around here could easily make off with a very small dog like a Yorkie, or a Chihuahua.

[JKosprey]

There's a great horned owl that nests somewhere behind the house, and when we let the little dog out after dark, she goes with an armed escort. Only took one near-miss to convince The Boss that it was a good idea.

Don't know about red-tails in other areas, but the ones around here could easily make off with a very small dog like a Yorkie, or a Chihuahua.

Great horned owls are nasty and tough, don't blame you for the escort. Just remember to follow the 3S rule.

[308Mike]

There's a great horned owl that nests somewhere behind the house, and when we let the little dog out after dark, she goes with an armed escort. Only took one near-miss to convince The Boss that it was a good idea.

Don't know about red-tails in other areas, but the ones around here could easily make off with a very small dog like a Yorkie, or a Chihuahua.

Great horned owls are nasty and tough, don't blame you for the escort. Just remember to follow the 3S rule.

When I was based at Marine air base at Tustin, CA (now closed), I climbed up to the top of the hanger (those great big blimp hangers - which are so big they can have their own weather inside) and when I reached where it met the interior catwalk I came across a large Barn Owl, which I startled. When it spread those wings, it looked HUGE! Since we were in a relatively enclosed space, I QUICKLY backed off (yeah, it scared me as I looked at those big talons and that sharp beak). Of course things look bigger when you get surprised by it in close proximity. I'd heard rumors of three-foot owls inhabiting the hangers, but never ran into anyone who'd actually seen one. To me, it looked like that owl was FOUR FEET tall (of course it wasn't). And Great Horned Owls are bigger than Barn Owls.

[Netpackrat]

This is all kinds of wrong....

[Erik]

The Ural Owl is about the same size as a great horned owl, and the Ural Owl is known for attacking people that comes too close to their nests. So well known that the Scandinavian name for it is translated as "Strike Owl".

I've seen a tv program where a guy was going to check a nest, well aware that the owl would strike, and they caught the attack on film. The owl comes as a dive bomber and hits the guy in the head with her talons, then does a fly around and comes back again. Almost knocked the full grown man off the ladder he was using. Caused a few wounds in the head, but the guy said it went fairly well because the owl knew him, he focused on protecting his eyes and knew he would have to get patched up when he got back down.

[Yogimus]

An owl's talons grasp with more force than the strongest mammal's bite.

Think about that.

[308Mike]

An owl's talons grasp with more force than the strongest mammal's bite.

Think about that.

Not true. I'm quite sure a Hyena's bite force is a LOT stronger than an owl's grasp.

[Erik]

An owl's talons grasp with more force than the strongest mammal's bite.

Think about that.

Not true. I'm quite sure a Hyena's bite force is a LOT stronger than an owl's grasp.

"A Great Horned’s talons is reputed to be an incredible 500 lbs psi"
A hyenas bite is 1100lbs psi

Other links I found seem to agree with those values. But pound for pound the owl wins.