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Raven Myths May Be Real

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Raven Myths May Be Real

Diane Tipton, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Statewide Information Officer

Thursday, July 06, 2006 (copied from http://fwp.mt.gov/news/article_4663.aspx on 4-3-08)

Ravens are smart, sociable and entertaining. They appear as wise tricksters in the myths of ancient Native American and European cultures and display complex behaviors including life-long relationships with their mates, co-hunting relationships with wolves and humans, elaborate vocal communication and even play.

The Raven is a great shape shifter in myths of the Tlingit, a tribe of the Pacific Northwest coast, moving between the creature and human worlds, bestowing gifts while also playing tricks on humans.

It now appears myths portraying the raven as a wise trickster may have a factual basis. Credible reports tell of ravens in Olympic National Park in Washington learning to mimic the sound of the urinals that auto-flush in the campgrounds, as well as the call that park personnel use during training to simulate an avalanche—”one, two, three, wooosh.” Some experts have recently documented as many as 17 common raven vocalizations.

Traditional native hunting stories of the Inuit people tell of ravens hunting with humans, and describe the birds tipping in flight to direct hunters to caribou. Researchers say cultural and biological evidence suggests ravens, wolves and pre-historic humans are likely to have hunted in each other’s company throughout evolutionary history.

I watch the ravens daily at home. They outsmart the squirrels and tease my dog. Tricksters they are. They will abandon all to wrest the shiny metal treasure back home, should they find something like that.

Written by shelbloom

April 4, 2008 at 12:54 am

Posted in Raven Mythos

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3 Responses to 'Raven Myths May Be Real'

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  1. Hey this is just fantastic Shelbloom. You are here and posting. What a great post!

    Heather Blakey

    4 Apr 08 at 12:55 am

  2. remarkable birds they are
    great article
    thanks for sharing

    Raven

    4 Apr 08 at 2:37 am

  3. Ravens are very intelligent, interesting article.

    imogen88

    4 Apr 08 at 5:23 am

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