What are ravens like as parents?
Impress your friends with your knowledge.
1. Ravens are the best parents on the planet.
The young ravens are born in early spring. They are not protected with plumage and the instability of the weather could affect them very seriously.
But that is not the case. Their parents care for them with impressive devotion.
If it is cold the parents fly miles to find flocks of sheep. They collect wool and take it to the nests. They cover the nests with the wool and in this way it is as if they were making a warm sweater for the little ones.
On very hot days they fly to water sources. They carry water in their huge beaks to provide water for their offspring.
If it is even hotter, they wet their feathers and lower the temperature of the young by giving them a bath. Understand that it is not easy to fly with wet feathers. But devotion for their offspring leads them to perform risky acts.
2. Do crows throw stones at people?
Have you ever heard these ridiculous stories of people who have been injured by rocks thrown at them by ravens?
Believe me, these are real facts.
Ravens fiercely defend their family. They dare to attack even a golden eagle. If they are dealing with even larger predators, such as humans, they throw stones at them. If it has ever happened to you, it is because you have invaded the ravens’ territory during their nesting season.
There are many birds that abandon their young if they feel threatened. Their instinct tells them that if they attack their predators and lose, the hatchlings will die as well, and so will they, the parents.
But this is not the case with ravens.
3. Do ravens attack people?
Oops, it’s getting worse! In Alfred Hitchcock‘s spooky film The Birds, a group of ravens attack people.
Well ladies and gentlemen, yes, it can happen in real life!
Although ravens do not usually live in large groups, this can change in cities where they find a lot of food thanks to all the leftovers that people throw away.
A true story
I once got a call from a young woman living in London asking for help. In a park she had found a baby raven that had fallen from its nest. I advised her to take it to a specialized center. But no! She kept it at home.
In addition, each day she returned to the park with the hatchling so that «the parents could see that the baby was well cared for».
But what she was really doing was showing her parents how she steals their little one. Day after day. Eventually the crows got fed up with such cruelty. They shared this information with the other couples living in the park. She was attacked by a group on her way back with the offspring.
And they continue to attack her to this day, although the little raven finally arrived there where it is being cared for by specialized hands, at a wildlife recovery center. The girl today has to go to work by a much longer way. She can’t even go near the park! Ravens do not forget.
4. The education of ravens in the family
Among territorial animals, the time the young spend protected by their parents is usually short. The parents make sure that their offspring know how to get food for themselves and expel them from their territory.
This is not the case with ravens.
The ravens accompanying their young during the 6 months following their emancipation.
Why do they do it? It takes a great deal of energy for them to provide food for themselves and also to watch over their offspring. It is not known exactly.
Perhaps they want to ensure that young ravens learn to overcome the challenges of the winter season of food shortages. They accompany them for a long period of time to learn how to forage in the snow and avoid attacks from hungry predators desperate for food, and other lessons.
But once the next mating season arrives, the parents throw the almost adult offspring out of their home. Why do they do it? I will explain next week in another article. We will talk about the ravens’ life as a pair.
Ravens are exceptional parents and deserve our protection.
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