The snowy owl is a large owl that mainly lives north of the Arctic circle.
Snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus), Budapest Zoo.
Sometimes snowy owls are fund further to the south when they move around and follow their prey. In the wild snowy owls eat a lot of lemmings as well as other small rodents and birds. In return snowy owls themselves are preyed upon by other birds of prey. But snowy owls are hardy predators and they are not endangered in the wild.
Most zoos I have visited seem to have snowy owls but they tend to be doing something on the ground, often at the back of their enclosure, so I had trouble photographing one.
The snowy owl in the pictures above lives at the Budapest Zoo and it showed some interest when I came close. That and the fact that I was able to get close to the wires of its enclosure from multiple sides allowed me to take pictures of this snowy owl without the cage showing in front of the bird.
Further Readings:
Hinterland Who’s Who – Snowy Owl.
Snowy owl ‘epidemic’ sweeps across Ontario – CBC News.
Basic Facts About Snowy Owls on the Defenders of Wildlife website.