Ravens Giving Thanks as Well
by Kevin Strauss

As we move toward Thanksgiving and celebrating the harvest, it is easy to see that some other northwoods creatures are probably giving thanks in their own way this year as well. Recently, a small flock of ravens landed in the back of a pickup truck in downtown Ely to pick meat off of a deer hide. For them, hunting season is a smorgasbord. Another pair of ravens sit on the roof of Ely city hall, watching the trucks drive by. From my vantage point, they seem to be planning a heist, or perhaps discussing how to put a few more holes in the city hall roof.

We see these black birds every day here in the northland. While in many areas they are thought off as a rural bird, they seem perfectly happy coming into town here on the Iron Range. While we have both crows and ravens here in the summer, now that winter is fast approaching, the crows have high-tailed it south to the warmer croplands of central and southern Minnesota. That means that any large black bird that you see his will be a common raven (Corvus corax). This bird’s Latin name translates as “black croaker.” The black part is obvious and the “croaker” part you have probably heard if you have been near ravens for any length of time. A raven’s croaking call is only one of over 100 calls that these birds make. Calls range from loud squawks to calls like the sound of water dripping.

While it is difficult to say whether any animal thinks about being “thankful” the way that humans do, if any animal has the intelligence to be both sneaky and thankful, it is the raven. Ravens are scavengers, so the more waste that humans produce, from household garbage or deer and fish entrails, the more food available to ravens. Unlike many wildlife species that shrink from cities, ravens seem to see people as an opportunity to get a free lunch.

At the International Wolf Center in Ely, ravens have quickly learned that the wolves get fed on Saturday night and there will be scraps for ravens on Sunday and Monday. When ravens land in the wolf enclosure, the two resident wolves, Malik and Shadow treat them as a hunting challenge.

A raven will land near an old deer carcass, grab some meat and hop away. If the wolves don’t react, it will hop over and take some more meat and then hop away. This continues until one of the wolves decides that it is time to chase off the feathered interloper and starts stalking the raven.

While most of the ravens spring into the air and escape before the wolves get too close, Malik has caught at least one raven. But apparently it didn’t taste good enough to eat. What’s more, staff have seen ravens bothering resting wolves my landing next to them and pulling their tails. If the wolves continue to sleep, a raven will hop back over and pull on an even bigger tuft of tail fur, until the wolf hops up and tries to snap at the feathered pest.

So while we are enjoying the feasts of the holidays, remember that there are animals in the woods ready to raid our garbage for the tasty leftovers.

The Ely Timberjay