Molina’s Hog-nosed Skunk as prey of the Great Horned Owl: predation or opportunist scavenging?

This note reports the observation of an adult Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) holding a Molina’s Hog-nosed Skunk (Conepatus chinga) in its claws. We assumed that it is a case of opportunistic predation because the skunk is larger than this owl’s regular preys. However, we could not exclude the possibility of opportunistic scavenging, despite this being an uncommon behavior for the Great Horned Owl. This is the first report of a Molina’s Hog-nosed Skunk preyed by a Great Horned Owl, an unusually large prey to an owl that preys mainly upon small mammals (e.g. rodents). Also, it is an uncommon report of consumption of mammal carnivores by owls in South America.