Raven & Drooling (1 Viewer)

[T0ny]

BERLIN (Reuters) - A flock of hungry ravens have killed 19 sheep grazing on snow-covered fields in southern Germany, raising the uneasy feeling that the killer birds of Alfred Hitchcock's famous thriller "The Birds" have come alive.

"There's a lot of snow in the area. The birds are hungry so they attack my sheep," shepherd Juergen Fritz said.

"I have seen the Hitchcock film. But I'm experiencing it 'live'," he said, referring to the 1963 classic, in which aggressive birds tyrannise a village in the United States.

Fritz said he was not able to protect his 500 sheep against attacks all the time. But even when he was with his flock, he was powerless when the ravens attacked.

"The worst thing is that I can't do anything about it. You're not allowed to shoot the ravens because they are protected animals," the 43-year old said.

Dietmar Ernst, a police spokesman in Loerrach, southwestern Germany, said he thought about 50 to 60 ravens living near a rubbish site had carried out the attacks on Fritz's sheep.

"It's a full-blown attack on the sheep. They use their beaks, their feet. They pick out the animals' eyes," he said. He said such attacks were common when a large number of birds gathered in one area where they could not easily find food.

"As soon as one starts the attack, the others all follow," he said. "But they're especially aggressive this year," he said.

Fritz said he had experienced attacks by ravens before in his 30 years as a travelling shepherd, but never had he lost so many animals in the course of a fortnight.

"I'm going to leave this area," he said, adding he had already lost about 2,000 euros due to the killings.

Tony

 

[seb_seb]

mixed feelings...laughter and fear(?)

 

[Gaye Horn]

I think that if the gathering of ravens sets the numbers high, then knowing the problem.. of food and the attacks; wouldn't it make sense to provide food away from the flock? Such as road kill or an offering of a slaughtered animal.. risk one for the sake of the whole herd? It is not my comment on the situation, mearly a thought on it.
We have ravens here and I have never seen this behaviour. That does not negate it in other places.
I have an acquaintence that feeds ravens and he uses road kill and butchered animals..up to 200 pounds a day!

 

[Booga]

The thing is they are such intelligent birds and as soon as one spots an opportunity then you can bet the rest of the gang will soon follow.

Gaye - excellent suggestion about the roadkill, even buying a carcass from the local butcher would probably do the trick. Household leftovers are good too, it's amazing the things we leave that provide a feast for birds. Although it would need a pretty big house hold to cater for 50-60 ravens!!!

Take care

Boogs

 

[Gaye Horn]

Booga... the thing about left-overs.. well I have been feeding an orphan female magpie for two years now and she loves cold spaghetti(no sauce); all left-overs are left out for the corvids.
Road kill is a great source of food for many species and it only makes sense including a butchered carcass to feed the ravens.. they most likely will leave the sheep alone if they have a food source..