Are there any academics here who could shed light on who is considered more intelligent - a Crow or a Raven?
I am aware Ravens are known to mimic sounds more than Crows, unless I am mistaken.
When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)
131–140 of 242 posts
Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)
#132I believe ravens and crows are very similar, this is a personal (long, and not the great) story about a raven I messed around with in Yosemite National Park: When I was up on north dome (not to be confused with half dome) there was a group of raven's hanging out on the rocks watching us eat our late lunch. I had an apple core that I tossed to the side and watched as a raven warily tried to approach it. I walked over…
You realize you're not supposed to toss around garbage in the national park?
Here's a different perspective, which I will admit in advance is kind of ridiculous, but it makes me think...
Why are humans not considered to be a part of nature? I think it’s because we consider ourselves to be more intelligent than other animals/organisms and therefore assume it to be our responsibility to actively protect nature. However, this is based on our own moral standards, which were created by us, likely as a result of our ability to empathize.
A human eating an apple and discarding the core seems pretty natural to me (though it’s not, by definition). If this has an impact on the wildlife population, then perhaps it was “meant to be”.
Going out of our way to preserve nature seems more unnatural. Nature should have no expectation of our intelligence, so perhaps the human-caused destruction of the world is itself natural.
Then again, perhaps our increased intelligence is natural, so going out of our way to preserve nature is natural.
As you can see, I basically have no point here. It’s just an interesting thought train that I felt like expressing.
Of course, this argument could be extended to just about anything that a human does, including pumping oil directly into the ocean, which is why I’m not actually trying to argue this point.
I guess what I am saying is that if humans are left unregulated, nature seems to find a way to restore sanity. An example of this is the over prescription of antibiotics which has led to a decrease in their overall effectiveness. It seems like nature will always win in the end.
Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)
#133Earlier quoted context omitted.
[They stayed up there and screeched the whole time I was cleaning up (maybe ten minutes).] I probably would have went inside and left the remains to nature. I commend your bravery. It seems like a squad of crows could do some real damage to a person. Also, I can confirm that raccoons are very intelligent. They're basically like dogs but with more "street smarts". I learned this after trying to get one to leave my att…
So can mouse poop, but it's extraordinarily rare so no one really worries about it, well no one sane. Err present company excluded ;) http://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/hps/ It's rare enough that individual cases end up on TV.
I took a wilderness survival course in college that included multiple days in the wilderness for the final. In over 40 years there had only been two deaths. One was dehydration due to a stupid fad diet and the other was hantavirus. It looks like the flu until it's too late. So if you are around mice droppings and get flu like symptoms soon after, get to a doctor soon.
Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)
#134Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not sure about Yosemite or even nature in the US so maybe this wouldn't be an issue, but even biodegradable things like apple cores or egg shells can spread diseases to local populations of trees or birds. That's a real thing to take into account in natural parks with endemic species at least.
Huh. I didn't know. Do you have a link on that?
I don't have a link though, it's just something that was been repeated at length by the Natural Reserve agents and the ecobiologists to the personnel and visitors while I was on Kerguelen island (precisely about apple cores and egg shells - most of the vegetation is actually in the same Rosaceae family as apple trees, and there are many local bird species).
It makes sense to me, seeing how a single disease like chestnut blight or phylloxera can be very devastating to a population on a whole continent, it could be both as bad but also less noticeable in a natural park.
Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)
#135Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well, ideally "leave no trace" and "don't mess with wildlife" are adhered to when in nature edit: it's also illegal in national parks, carrying up to a $5000 fine and six months in jail
Yes, I have spent a lot of time out in nature and parks, and I generally am aware of not leaving a trace or litter. However, with something like a banana peel, I'd rather it end up as tree food the in a landfill, so I usually toss them in bushes.
Actually banana peels and orange peels don't biodegrade that fast in a north American forest.
Apple cores I think might not be too bad to toss, ants can eat that up in a day or two.
I pack out the peels of any tropical fruit.
Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)
#136Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)
#137Reminds of this video where a crow and a feral kitten are friends. The crow even feeds the kitten!
Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)
#138A VERY timely article for me. About a month ago here in Silicon Valley, I noticed that a crow had been violently torn apart and the pieces scattered all over my backyard lawn. I assume the killer was a raccoon--another improbably intelligent animal. How those fat, little ninjas do what they do is beyond me, but one had apparently caught a crow. A few hours after I noticed the carnage, I grabbed a paper grocery bag an…
My city has a big flock of them that migrate to another city. Some USDA guys chase them around in a pickup truck when the group gets big and chases them away with strobe lights, lasers, distressed crow sound effects and bottle rockets.
When they show up and start settings up, the crows swarm them and poop everywhere. It's pretty crazy.
Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)
#139Earlier quoted context omitted.
You realize you're not supposed to toss around garbage in the national park?
Here's a different perspective, which I will admit in advance is kind of ridiculous, but it makes me think... Why are humans not considered to be a part of nature? I think it’s because we consider ourselves to be more intelligent than other animals/organisms and therefore assume it to be our responsibility to actively protect nature. However, this is based on our own moral standards, which were created by us, likely…
Unregulated humans have lead to the extinction of hundreds (thousands?) of species. Largely by hunting, but also unintentionally by destroying habitats. It's also a safety hazard: when you feed wild animals, they learn to associate humans with food and are more willing to approach humans, which places humans in danger. Aside from animal welfare, garbage is just disgusting. If one person sees an apple core, perhaps they'll assume it's OK to leave their Doritos bag, and someone else a beer bottle, and now the area is spoiled for everyone. Not to mention health hazards for both humans and animals from rotting food.
Re: When a crow dies, the other crows investigate the cause of death (2015)
#140So fascinating! There is a young girl in Seattle who made friends with the local crows by feeding them, they soon were bringing her regular gifts in exchange for her snacks - http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31604026 I tried to do the same thing in my backyard for about three weeks until one day my wife caught me putting little pieces of bread on our porch railing. She asked what I was doing and I explained making fr…
If you are going to feed wild birds nuts and seeds is a more appropriate food to put out for them than bread.