Fatal cougar attack in Washington State

[Catmandoo]

Do they follow you when you are hunting so they can score a gut pile or other tidbits?  I am followed by a Raven. I think it has dibs on my eyes and wants to lead a bear or cougar to me.

[wiiawiwb]

Gun shots = dinner bell

[Huntster]

6 hours ago, Catmandoo said:

Do they follow you when you are hunting so they can score a gut pile or other tidbits?.........

 

Probably. I have certainly left them lots of gutpiles.

 

.........

I am followed by a Raven. I think it has dibs on my eyes and wants to lead a bear or cougar to me.

 

Koyukon elders believe that ravens will lead them to moose so they can get the leftover feast, so instead of them following me, I should follow them.........but I can’t keep up. I’d love to build a hunting relationship with a raven. They can even talk. Imagine one telling you, “Hey, there’s a fat bull about a half mile southwest of here.........”

 

My wife’s cousin is a bird guy. He’s had pet crows in the past. He’d help me train a raven. 

[SWWASAS]

I have noticed a relationship with ravens and BF activity in an active area.     Several times when I entered the active area ravens would circle overhead and vocalize before flying off.   It seemed very much to me like they were announcing my presence as if they were working for the resident BF.      Of course they were probably hoping that the BF would eat me and they could get the leftovers.    Makes me wonder if they did the same treatment to a deer blundering into an active BF area.  

[Huntster]

33 minutes ago, SWWASAS said:

..........Several times when I entered the active area ravens would circle overhead and vocalize before flying off.   It seemed very much to me like they were announcing my presence as if they were working for the resident BF..........

 

That is standard raven behavior. Sometimes, when I’m standing or sitting quietly and motionless in the woods, and as a raven approached in flight, when they finally notice me, they take a sudden, evasive type maneuver before hightailing out silently or with a few croaks. They were clearly surprised by my presence. Other times they may circle or land in a tree and watch and vocalize. 

 

I would like like to understand their “language” better.......like the meanings of croaks.

[Catmandoo]

Ravens are too smart to have as a 'pet'. You would have to have a male and a female. Rated as smarter than apes. There are sayings about Ravens, bears and cougars:  Every Raven has a bear/cougar, every bear has a Raven, every cougar has a Raven. The beliefs are that Ravens will lead bears and cougars to prey. Also that Ravens will follow predators to feed on carrion.

3 hours ago, SWWASAS said:

Several times when I entered the active area ravens would circle overhead and vocalize before flying off.   It seemed very much to me like they were announcing my presence as if they were working for the resident BF.      Of course they were probably hoping that the BF would eat me and they could get the leftovers.

 

Valid point SWWASAS. I agree. I get the same overhead Raven flyby. They follow and watch me. I don't think that BF would eat you. You are old, full of preservatives, have cholesterol and maybe prescription meds.  Tough and crewy on the outside, pink and crunchy on the inside.  Not tasty.

[SWWASAS]

Given the rate at which young women go missing in this area,  you may be right.     BF probably like the vegetarian types who never touch meat themselves.     Kinda like grain fed beef.   

[BigTreeWalker]

Personally, I think ravens keep track of all the predators and prey in an area. I've hunted enough to know they are definitely keeping an eye on things. My experience has been like Huntster, sometimes they notice me sometimes they don't. It depends on what I am doing. Like him I wish I could keep up with them because I'm sure they know where the elk are. I too wish I could understand their language. 

Edited December 3, 2018 by BigTreeWalker

[Huntster]

I was just outside shoveling snow. There was a raven up in the cottonwood talking to me. I made sure to tell him that you guys are talking about him.

[SWWASAS]

Glad to hear I am not the only one that talks to them.     I get a kick out of their personalities and talk to them if they are watching me.     I mentioned in another thread that several were herding a flock of starlings out of the area.    It looked like a movie showing aerial combat during World War II.

[norseman]

Ravens were sacred to the Vikings.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huginn_and_Muninn

[MindSquatch]

Came across this recent news article briefly talking about Ravens and other animals.

 

 

https://www.adn.com/outdoors-adventure/2018/12/04/listen-to-animals-they-can-speak-volumes-without-needing-words/

 

Edited December 4, 2018 by MindSquatch

[Huntster]

4 hours ago, SWWASAS said:

Glad to hear I am not the only one that talks to them.     I get a kick out of their personalities and talk to them if they are watching me............

 

Yeah, I do it all the time with ravens. Magpies, Stellar jays, and gray jays, too. I even had the opportunity to talk with wolves and bears on a few occasions. 

[bipedalist]

Only known animal communication I ever had documented is a bet with a friend on the Appalachian Trail South of Cosby Knob, Tn., abt. 1982

 

I bet him how much you wanna bet I can call in that raven on the farthest ridge across a valley that bird and ridge was visible to the two of us;  his response, no way.

 

Fast forward to five to ten raven calls later we watched an abrupt change like airtraffic control had said, 
" scoot here, fast".

 

Next five minutes, that raven was cocking his head over the two of us on the far ridge away from it, no words shared other than friends, wow!

Edited December 4, 2018 by bipedalist

[Kiwakwe]

Years ago a friend and i were sitting on a rock next to a house, we were about to eat, he had brought lunch in a brown bag, set it down then walked off to his car. A crow came down, right in front of me and grabbed it, flew up to the peak of the roof and ate his lunch, inaccessibly, in front of him. I thought that displayed quite a good bit of intelligence and rakishness. Currently i have a troupe of Ravens that reside in the woods out front. I often wake to their croaky calls and we frequently chat out in our shared turf. Maybe i get more out of the conversation than they do, IDK.

 

I was recently in the canyon-y Southwest, where Ravens and i would frequently watch each other. It was interesting to see them choose just the perch I had in mind for myself had i been where they were headed. They know what's up, i'm convinced.

 

I've read Lawrence Kilham's On Watching Birds but he wrote The American Crow and Common Raven which I've not yet but it looks really good:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/97572.The_American_Crow_Common_Raven?from_search=true

 

".....This book explains especially the social systems of these birds, from cooperative breeding to predator mobbing. Difficult topics such as 'play' and 'thinking' in crows are interestingly and critically presented. . . . an appealing volume." --Choice " . . . his book is one of the best, most informative and engaging ones yet written about how some of these birds live, think, and feel. Kilham on crows compares favorably with Tinbergen on gulls, Goodall on chimpanzees, and Lorenz on dogs and jackdaws." --Smithsonian "