Estimated Read Time: 7 minutes

Genius

Which animal is multi-lingual, plans for the future, holds funerals, plays pranks and can remember every kind – and not so kind – act of its neighbours?

Ravens, of course.

To some, they are the creator. To others, they’re a nuisance.

For most of us though, they’re just a common neighbor, often forgotten as we go about our lives.

But just because we overlook them, doesn’t mean we should. Especially since they hold grudges.

Re-meet the common raven: it’s like the avant-garde exchange student in class, just with a better sense of humour.

Like that time in the 90s in Yellowstone National Park when it was believed a serial-camp site thief was responsible for stolen binoculars, point-and-shoot cameras (these annoying contraptions people once carried before we had them built into our phones), necklaces, rings… Thousands of dollars of valuables – hidden inside tents, backpacks, storage bins – were stolen across the years without a clue.

Until someone happened across a raven’s nest and saw something odd inside of it. And, upon further investigation, discovered many oddities – like thousands of dollars of missing and presumed stolen valuables.

But nothing had been stolen! It was just a pair of mischievous ravens, who observed (and presumably learned through observation) how to open backpacks and tent zippers and storage lids while humans were occupied and thought what could be more fun than a multiple-year practical joke?! Ha!

Okay, humour, I suppose, is in the eye of the beholder.

But the point remains: ravens have a playful streak and love nothing more than getting others to have some fun with them – whether playing hide-and-seek with human valuables, playing tag with a wolf’s tail or even playing catch with each other in the sky.

via GIPHY

And though we usually find raven humour annoying, wolves seem to have come around to it.

Or maybe it’s just that wolves tolerate ravens because their pestering might have a greater meaning.

Like what?

Well, ravens actually help large predators – and wolves specifically – find prey. Studies have shown they will literally lead the wolves to a kill.

Why would a raven do that?

Because, during winter, animals die. They’re hit by cars. They starve. They fall through the ice and get stuck.

Ravens, patrolling from on high, are usually the first to notice, but they don’t have the skills to break-open a rib cage. But guess who does? Wolves!

Again, having just patrolled from above, ravens know where the wolves are, find them, torment them, and get the wolves to chase the ravens…all the way to the kill site. Next thing you know, free dinner for all.

Not that wolves want ravens to share in the bounty. Though wolves and ravens appear to have a deep alliance, some scientists believe ravens are also the reason wolves travel in packs. Not because a lone wolf can’t fend for itself or even feed the pack, but because it takes a team effort to ward off the ravens who, if given a centimetre will take a kilometre…or, in this case, up to a third of a carcass.

Which gives you a sense of why ravens have elicited strong emotions over the years from the animal kingdom – humans included.

Ravens are seen as tricksters and jokesters. But increasingly we understand that even their sense of fun has an element of genius behind it.

Ravens, it’s been proven, do the calculations. They know their strengths and weaknesses. They understand what other species value; understand how those valuations can be used in a trade to augment their needs.

Which sounds like something you’d hear a CEO say at the corporate retreat of a Fortune 500 company. And you’re not far off. And, yes, we’re still talking about a bird.

Recent studies have shown a four-month-old raven to be as smart as an adult great ape – you know, our closest living relative.

Ravens understand quantity and value. They understand the ramifications of actions. And they know how to use social networking as a tool for learning.

These are all hallmarks of great apes (other than some modern day humans, obviously) and should make us re-think how much we actually know about our smarty-pants neighbours; it’s why calling ravens geniuses isn’t an overstatement.

They are amongst the smartest animals in the world, as are all members of the corvid (no, not COVID) family – including fellow mensch’s: crows, magpies and jays. (Which makes the latter’s poor plate discipline such a head-scratcher, am I right Blue Jays fans?! Sorry, bad joke.)

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Ravens and crows, like humans, have ancient dialects, developed and advanced across centuries to help with things like comforting one another and, yes, even advertising. They have local dialects – you know, like Newfies – that only those from specific populations can understand – you know, like Newfies.

Some researchers even believe ravens are capable of mimicking other creatures in the neighbourhood, which, at times, might come in handy to deke out predators or uncover hidden prey. (Like when an athlete from one team pretends to a player on the other team in the hopes that the opposing team might drop the ball, literally…in sports, we call that Alex Rodriguez, but in nature we call it impressive!)

And their

advanced

communication

skills

come in handy.

Ravens and crows are now understood to hold funerals – maybe to mourn, depending on whom you believe, but mostly, it seems, to study the death like a bunch of CSIs trying to determine whodunit. They actually try to learn why a fallen comrade has died – and how to escape the same fate.

And once they learn the fate of the deceased? They communicate it.

In fact, all corvids observe and pass along what they learn.

Mean to a corvid? They will hold a grudge. They’ll also tell their friends about you so they can hold a grudge too. And those friends tell their friends and, before you know it, 66% of a population will hate you even three years after your terrible deed.

Kind to a corvid? It will remember you and be kind to you (or try to manipulate you, but whatever, right wolves?) and tell its friends about you (so other crows and ravens can be kind or try to manipulate you).

Maybe being kind to, say, a crow will lead the bird to wanting to spend time with you or learn how to be more efficient like you. Like riding a Skytrain (less energy than flying!) or commuting in car (environmentally friendly!). Maybe it will try to have some fun with you, like attending a horserace (hopefully it’s of age) or, you know, stealing a knife from a crime scene (the police really enjoyed that game of tag with the crow). Seriously, read here!

Want to turn the tables and spy on a corvid? They know when you’re watching and they’ll adjust their behaviour accordingly. It means it’s hard for a raven to fool a fellow corvid about the true location of their stashed goods, but – apparently – it does enable them to fool humans for long periods of time.

It’s this ability to observe and learn and plan and communicate – and, yes, even deceive – that makes ravens and all corvids so smart. They don’t just have one of these skills; they have them all – and they know how to use them together to do pretty cool (occasionally criminal) things.

Like (some) people.

Also like (some) people?

Ravens are compassionate and have a sense of justice.

If one raven, say, steals the food of their companion, that thief raven will find itself with fewer friends (food, you see is a crime; stealing jewelry is just a practical joke).

If a raven is being bullied, another raven will come to its defense, especially if it’s a relative because they’ve learned, studies show, it’s never good to have an upset partner (nodding along is every romantic partner ever).

If raven young find themselves orphaned, a kindly neighbour will help raise them. And those young ravens? They’ve been shown to return the favour, helping raise their adopted parents’ young the next year.

That’s not smart.

That’s exceptional.

So too is the fact that ravens – and magpies and crows and jays – consume those kills (carrion) they spot during a fly-by, helping feed not only themselves, but also countless species. In the doing? They drive nutrient cycling, critical to all life, everywhere.

Which is why many of us need to re-introduce ourselves to the common raven – it does more than we think; it knows more than we think. And, almost certainly, it has a few lessons to share that maybe even us humans have forgotten along the way.

via GIPHY

What do you think?

What strikes you most about the raven?
What feature do you like best of the raven? Why?
Do you have ravens in your area? If not, where is the closest region they exist?
What is the current estimate of raven populations in your region, or the region closest to you that contains a population?
List the characteristics of raven that help them survive.
How is the raven represented, or valued in an indigenous community in your community?
What other species work together to survive, like the raven and the wolf?
Compare the ravens ‘super powers’ to that of a similar small mammals.
Do you believe ecosystems could survive without the skunk? Why or why not?
What don’t we know much about when it comes to the raven? How might we find this out?

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