By Paul Majendie

LONDON - If legend is to be believed, the future of the British monarchy lies in the hands of a sharp-shooting warder at the Tower of London.



For the six ravens who roam one of Britain's landmark fortresses are under threat from up to 200 crows who have invaded their royal domain, spreading disease and stealing food.


So every Sunday at dawn, before the daily tourist invasion begins, Yeoman Warder Derrick Coyle roams The Tower with his .22 air rifle to cull the crows.


For the beefeater, it is a weighty responsibility securing a haven for the ravens. Legend has it that if the ravens leave, The Tower of London will fall and so will the monarchy.


The 17th century monarch Charles II decreed that there must always be six ravens in residence.


"Urban crows are on the increase and they are a growing problem for us," said a spokeswoman for Historic Royal Palaces, which runs the Tower of London.


"The ravenmaster has his own culling strategy. He goes out at dawn and looks for the crows that he knows are ill -- they have matted feathers and a mangy appearance," she told Reuters.


Rarely has a collective noun been more appropriate in English -- a gathering of crows is known as a murder of crows.


The sharpshooter is particularly on the lookout for crows who might have swallowed rat poison.


The ravens themselves eat like kings -- from chicken hearts bought each morning by the ravenmaster at London's Smithfields Market to biscuits soaked in blood.


But life in the lap of avian luxury has apparently not always been so appealing.


One raven, Grog, spent 21 years at the Tower when he suddenly felt the need for a change in 1981 -- he was last spotted in the East End of London outside a pub called the Rose and Punchbowl.


Neither is it a job for life. The Governor of the Tower has been known to dismiss ravens for "conduct unbecoming."


In 1986, one miscreant called George was given his marching orders after developing a taste for TV aerials.

frikkin idiots. no reason to kill the crows

i love crows. they're one of the smarter birds around. people don't give them a fair break. if you get to know them they're smart and funny

i mean, there's a way to save the ravens AND the crows besides just killing crows.

i deeply enjoy crows also ... i had a special feeder made to feed them outside the back of my house ... after watching them for yrs you get to know the different ones

i love ravens also ..the ones here are HUGE

its the bloody pigeons they want to do something about.

Rats with wings.
actually thats not fair to rats.

The Tower of London Ravens are such beautiful creatures. Crows are just beggars.

Kayleigh said:

now that's just propaganda. they aren't 'beggars' (unless they spot a human who looks willing to maybe share a bite of food), they're scavengers. they don't let an opportunity to survive pass them by. they're able to count, they make and use tools and store said tools for later use, their young learn from mom and dad, helping to raise a few clutches of their brothers and sisters before they have any offspring of their own. crows have a language.

a year or so ago i lived on the edge of a park in mpls. a place where great numbers of crows gathered at dusk every evening. it was eerie but cool because there were so many crows perched in their branches the trees looked as though they were leafed in black. anyway after gathering the crows would all quiet down then an apparent conversation would ensue between selected members of the different trees full of crows. i swear they were updating each other on the day's search for food. maybe gossiping. who knows? the fact remains they are able to perform tasks similar to those of our cousins the ape. they're quite smart.

imo shooting them to protect the ravens' space is a cop-out. they could be dealt with differently, with more respect.





i love crows.

XxAxX said: