The Barking Owl (Ninox connivens) is one of nine Australian owl species. They are a medium-sized owl and feed on a wide variety of prey including gliders, possums, rabbits, rosellas and magpies. Large hollows are essential for breeding by Barking Owls and many of their prey are also dependent on hollows.

Populations of barking owls in south-eastern Australia have experienced rapid declines in recent years with only 100 pairs thought to remain in Victoria. Ecological research undertaken by Zoos Victoria Zoologist Natasha Schedvin has confirmed that loss of habitat through fragmentation and degradation of the more productive woodland remnants is responsible for their decline. Breeding owl pairs are now caught between cleared agricultural lands and unsuitable forest, or forest occupied by much larger, aggressive owl species.

Combined effects of drought and the 2003 fires have more than halved numbers in the north-eastern Victorian stronghold of the Barking Owl, with only ten pairs persisting on in the area. One of the reasons bushfires were so devastating for these owls is that they are highly territorial and consequently do not readily relocate to new areas. Breeding pairs are inclined to stay and defend their patch at all cost.

Natasha is undertaking an inventory of the north-eastern Victorian population to ascertain whether their numbers can bounce back from these catastrophic events. It is hoped that surviving pairs will hang on despite the ongoing drought, and that these breeding pairs will restore the depleted population.