LEAD: IN THE MOVIE GHOSTBUSTERS, GHOSTS AND GOBLINS WERE THE ENEMY CAPTURED BY THE GOOD GUYS IN THE END. BUT AS LINDA KUBITZ REPORTS, SOUTH FLORIDA HAS SOME GHOSTS YOU MIGHT NOT MIND HAVING AROUND.
Supers:
:01-:05 Belle Glade, FL
:27-:32 Wayne Boynton-Florida Sugar Farmer
:38-:43 Linda Kubitz Reporting
:57-1:02 Cosandra Hochreiter-UF Research Biologist
T RT:1:28
TAG: IF YOU'RE WONDERING WHAT DIFFERENCE A FEW OWLS CAN MAKE, KEEP IN MIND ONE GHOST OWL CAN CONSUME UP TO 15-HUNDRED RATS AND MICE A YEAR.
THAT EAR-PIERCING SCREECH IS A SCARY BUT WELCOME SOUND TO SOUTH FLORIDA SUGAR FARMERS. UNTIL NOW, THEY DIDN'T STAND A GHOST OF A CHANCE AGAINST AN EVER-INCREASING RAT POPULATION. BUT A SILENT PREDATOR HAUNTING THEIR FIELDS AT NIGHT IS NOW GIVING THEM A FIGHTING CHANCE. THE GHOST OWL IS ONE OF THE RAT'S NUMBER ONE ENEMIES AND MAYBE THE FARMER'S NEW BEST FRIEND.
BOYNTON "The owls catch is from 5 to 10 rats a day and eat them, so for every owl you have on your place, that's just that much less damage to the sugarcane." (:09)
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA RESEARCHERS SAY RODENTS CAUSE 30-MILLION DOLLARS IN CROP DAMAGE EACH YEAR. THAT'S WHY THEY'RE STUDYING WAYS TO INCREASE THE GHOST OR BARN OWL POPULATION AS A NATURAL CONTROL FOR THESE PESTS. ONE OF THE PROBLEMS IN DOING THAT IS THE ABANDONED BUILDINGS THE OWLS CALL HOME ARE STARTING TO VANISH.
HOCHREITER: "They're starting to destroy a lot of these buildings and they're not replacing them. So their habitat, it's being depleted. So that's one of the things, the projects that we're working on, is actually replacing their habitat with the barn owl boxes." (:13)
UF BIOLOGISTS ALSO WANT FARMERS TO LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF RAT POISON USED SO OWLS WON'T BE ACCIDENTLY POISONED. THAT WAY, THESE ENDANGERED OWLS WON'T LIVE UP TO THEIR GHOSTLY NAME AND DISAPPEAR FROM THEIR NATIVE HABITAT. IN BELLE GLADE, FLORIDA....LINDA KUBITZ REPORTING