Why Do Ravens Follow Wolves? The Truth!
Contents
Ravens and wolves both have a fearsome reputation. Common ravens are large, all-black birds found across the Northern Hemisphere. Gray wolves are large wild canines native to North America and Eurasia.
Where there are wolves, there are often ravens. Why do ravens follow wolves?
Ravens show up around wolves to scavenge their kills. Ravens can’t tear open the thick hide of an elk or deer on their own, so a wolf kill gives them access to meat. Ravens have been seen following wolves on hunts, but newer GPS tracking in Yellowstone suggests many ravens instead learn where wolves are likely to make kills and fly straight there.
Ravens also seem to tease wolves at times, diving at them or pecking at their tails and then flying off.
Ravens And Wolves Relationship
Ravens and wolves have a close relationship. Ravens are sometimes called "wolf birds" because they are so often found near wolves.
The main draw for ravens is food. In Yellowstone, ravens are attracted to wolf kills and may follow wolves while they hunt elk, according to the National Park Service.
Wolves were wiped out across much of the United States in the early 1900s, including in Yellowstone. They were brought back to the park in the mid-1990s, and ravens quickly began using wolf kills.
Wolves and ravens also appear together in folklore. In Norse myth, the god Odin is shown with two ravens, Huginn and Muninn, and two wolves, Geri and Freki.
Ravens don’t only scavenge from wolves. They also feed at carcasses left by other predators and at roadkill. At a kill, ravens can carry away and hide (cache) many chunks of meat, so they can take a meaningful share.
Some researchers think losing meat to ravens is one reason wolves benefit from living and feeding in larger packs, since a bigger pack eats a carcass faster. This idea is still debated.
Ravens are often wary of a carcass with no other animals around. Feeding alongside wolves may feel safer to them.
Do Wolves Help Ravens?
Yes. Wolf kills are an important food source for ravens, especially in winter.
Ravens feed at the carcass while the wolves are eating or after they leave, grabbing what they can.
How Do Ravens Help Wolves?
The benefit to wolves is less clear. Ravens get a lot from wolves, but wolves mostly lose some meat to them.
Some biologists have suggested that wolves may notice gatherings of ravens and find carcasses that way. This hasn’t been well proven.
Final Verdict
Ravens follow wolves, or wait where wolves are likely to hunt, to scavenge their kills. Ravens clearly benefit, while the benefit to wolves is uncertain.
The two species have lived side by side for a very long time, and the relationship is still being studied.
Sources
- Raven, Yellowstone National Park, National Park Service
- Population responses of common ravens to reintroduced gray wolves, PubMed Central
- Scientists thought ravens followed wolves. They were wrong, International Wolf Center
