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The Barking Owl
Description
Could a tree be a whole neighborhood?
High in the Australian bush, a barking owl named Bram thinks of his old eucalyptus tree as home. But when a bright red ribbon appears around its trunk, he realizes that home may be in danger. With the help of sugar gliders, possums, rainbow lorikeets, and a few clever ideas, Bram must find a way to help the humans see that this isn't just one tree. It’s a neighborhood.
In this episode, kids will learn:
- Why we call them “barking” owls
- How silent flight helps owls sneak up on prey using specialized feathers
- How trees and tree hollows become essential homes for barking owls, sugar gliders, possums, bats, frogs, and many other Australian animals
Wild and Kind Kids is a weekly, screen-free animal podcast for curious kids and their grownups. Every episode blends an original story with real animal science, helping children build curiosity, empathy, and a deeper understanding of the natural world, one remarkable animal at a time.
Listen during bedtime, quiet afternoons, long car rides, or homeschool science lessons about birds of prey, Australian animals, forests, and habitats.
Barking owl audio by Hank Bower from Xeno-canto, used under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) license.
Keep exploring:
- Download this week's free Barking Owl coloring sheet
- Follow @wildandkindkidspod on Instagram for crafts, nature activities, and behind-the-scenes fun
- Find more resources or request an animal at wildandkindkids.com
Learn along with us and explore some of the resources we consulted:
- Barking Owl (Australian Museum)
- Barking Owl (Australia Zoo)
- “Owl” be Seeing You: Amazing Facts About Owl Eyes (The American Bird Conservancy)
- The Silent Flight of Owls, Explained (Audubon Magazine)
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