In this file photo from January 2012, a snowy owl is seen in the morning sunlight at the Clinton Lake Dam.

Wichita ? While Kansans might enjoy seeing a snowy owl from the Arctic, wildlife experts say it’s not good news that the animals are this far south.

Wildlife officials say nearly a dozen snowy owls have been found dead this winter in Kansas. Most likely died from starvation.

The Wichita Eagle reports the more than five dozen white owls seen in Kansas are here because they have been pushed out of their habitat in the Arctic.

Chuck Otte, secretary of the Kansas Ornithological Society, says older owls claiming territory push the younger ones out of the Arctic. Most go to northern states but an abundance of snowy owls there can send them farther south.

Otte suggests people resist the urge to feed the owls, saying that only prolongs their suffering.