OK, so uh...

...what's the deal with the owls? I see them all the time in various random scenes like coming out of holes in the wall molding and being fed in a park by a lake. I assume owls are the year 3000 manifestation of rats and pigeons combined; however, as far as I have seen, there has been no direct mention of them.

I also notice in the opening credits, just under the billboard that Leela hits, there is a sign that reads (something along the lines of) "DEF-CON: Kills Owls Dead"...

So anyone got the scoop on that?

In I, Roommate, hermes mentions the "owl problem". (Forgive me, I'm too lazy to look up the exact wording.)

"Somebody has been leaving food around, and it's attracting owls. And I for one am getting sick of cleaning out the owl traps!"

Personally, it didn't click until you mentioned those other things, but yeah, sounds like owls are the 31st century equivalent of vermin.

fo0bar

They also mention the owl problem in a few of the audio commentaries.

In article ,

Many species of owls today are "endandgered" or at least "threatened" species. One of environmentalism's touted sucess stories is the re-introduction of top-level predators into urban ecosystems (mostly hawks, but could be owls). The only downside, so far, seems to be that some people dislike seeings pigeons mauled and eaten alive outside of their office windows at lunchtime. It just stands to reason, that, like all good ideas, it'll ultimately backfire.

I think it's just a "background" joke. I.E., it's not a huge punchline, just a little humorous touch they put in. In the future, NYC doesn't have a rat problem, it has an owl problem. Owls are, uh, rare here in NYC.

I don't think you're supposed to think about it too much. ;)

Kodos

"Jason Saslow" wrote in message news:[email]...

random scenes like coming out of holes in the wall molding and being fed in a park by a lake. I assume owls are the year 3000 manifestation of rats and pigeons combined; however, as far as I have seen, there has been no direct mention of them.

hits, there is a sign that reads (something along the lines of) "DEF-CON: Kills Owls Dead"...

Well, DeCon is a rodent poison, so I assume that this the 31st century variation (AND a play on military speak for Defense Condition).