Do ravens kill crows? (2 Viewers)

[crowmorgan]

Hi all,

Perhaps this isn't the place to ask, but you guys just seem so knowledgeable in bird-related matters, that I thought it couldn't hurt to ask.

A month or so ago, while on a run in town, I came across a baby crow on the ground. It was about two weeks old, and while the parents were around, they didn't seem to care that I was near their chick. The nest was within climbing distance, so I put it back. The next day, it was on the ground again. Again, the parents didn't seem to care. I called a vet friend of mine who said that sometimes birds deliberately remove babies if there aren't enough resources around for all the offspring - they were all pretty skinny.

So I took it home, looked around for a wildlife rehabber but couldn't find one, and raised it myself. I live on 2 acres about 4 miles from town in a pine woods and figured that once "Mose" fledged, he could just hang around outside until he decided to leave. The problem is that where I live there are ravens (and no crows). Whenever Mose is out playing in the yard, the ravens notice and seem very interested in him. Mose isn't small enough to be carried off, but I've heard that crows and ravens are competitors... do you think he's safe out there with them??

Thanks so much in advance for any help you can provide!

 

[crowmorgan]

For those of you curious to know, I found out today that the answer is YES. Mose was outside in a tree and a raven attacked him. His mouth got bloodied up a little, but he's otherwise fine.

It's strange - I've never heard of an animal species besides humans that targets an individual of another species to kill not for food purposes. Anyone have an observations/insights about this?

 

[nickderry]

in nature things attack other things over territory, when feeling threatened and sometimes it seems just for the hell of it. Not too far removed from human nature - we're all just part of the ecosystem.

 

[rob.72]

All crows are intelligent birds that are always on the lookout for opportunity and a unprotected young crow in nature is there to be recycled! Nature almost always has a good reason for everything that happens, it can seem cruel to us because we know cruelty but am sure they don't.
So keep an eye on your new pet! And good luck!