Bird expert is raising first-ever ‘tame’ ravens for the Tower of London in bid to stop them flying off (and risking centuries-old legend that the kingdom will fall)
- There are normally six ravens plus a spare at the Tower of London landmark
- Legend has it that the Tower ‘will fall’ if less than six ravens ever be left there
- Mike Keen, 49, is helping raise the first tame raven chicks hatched at the Tower
A bird expert is hoping to raise the first ever generation of ‘tame’ Tower of London ravens – to stop them flying off.
Legend has it that the ‘Tower and the Kingdom will fall’ should less than six ravens ever be left at the historic landmark.
There are normally six ravens plus a spare at the Tower – but all have their wings clipped to prevent them flying away.
Mike Keen, 49, is helping raise the first ever chicks hatched at the Tower in the hope that they will not need their wings clipped and will be happy to remain
Now Mike Keen, 49, is helping raise the first ever chicks hatched at the Tower in the hope that they will not need their wings clipped and won’t fly off and risk the centuries old legend.
It is hoped that the breeding programme will ensure the future of the birds and allow further generations to be able to trace the ravens’ family bloodline.
Raven expert and pub landlord Mike said: ‘It is a big responsibility keeping these birds safe so they’re living in my bedroom for now.’
The keen animal lover has owned an adult pet raven for the past 14 months named Grippe and during that time he started to contact fellow raven keepers.
He said: ‘The community is very tight knit and not very large.
‘I started talking to Chris Skaife, Tower of London’s Ravenmaster, on Instagram, and he’s probably the most important raven keeper in the community.
‘I showed him pictures of Grippe, and he came to meet her and said that she is the tamest raven he has ever met.’
Grippe sits on pub landlord Mike’s shoulder most of the day, and is free to fly around the pub’s beer garden.
Chris has ambitions of being able to properly trace the bloodline of the ravens which live at the Tower of London and create a breeding programme.
Legend has it that the ‘Tower and the Kingdom will fall’ should less than six ravens ever be left at the historic landmark
No-one knows how long there have been ravens at the Tower but Charles II is believed to have said in the 1600s that if there were ever less than six a great disaster would fall on the Kingdom.
Mike, who has worked as a chef and bar manager throughout his career, said: ‘We wanted people in the future to properly trace the bloodline and generations.
‘That’s why we wanted to create a proper Tower family.’
Last weekend Mike picked up three chicks from the Tower’s aviary, and brought them back to his Suffolk pub to raise them with more space.
The chicks were the first to be born at the Tower in 30 years, Mike says before this: ‘Usually replacement ravens were wild or rescue birds.’
There are normally six ravens plus a spare at the Tower – but all have their wings clipped to prevent them flying away
Grippe sits on pub landlord Mike’s shoulder most of the day, and is free to fly around the pub’s beer garden
There are currently seven ravens living at the Tower of London, if any of these were to die or be retired- the birds that Mike is caring for will replace them.
He said: ‘The babies are massive, my Grippe is about 1.3kg but at four weeks old these chicks are already almost as big.
‘They’re going to be huge, they can’t even move properly because their wings can’t support their weight.
‘They’re in my bedroom at the moment because they do not fly until 10 weeks old, they can’t even properly move.
‘At the moment they’re being fed raw liver, scrambled eggs and raw chicken about 5 times a day.
‘Once these ravens are old enough hopefully they’ll live in the beer garden and pick up scraps, hopefully not people’s Sunday roast while they’re eating.’
Mike admits there is a lot of pressure to keep these ravens safe, so he will keep the congress in a secured aviary, fitted with alarms and CCTV.
The Tower of Lo
The Tower of London Ravens
Ravens are the traditional guardians of the ancient walls of the Tower of London.
According to popular belief, Charles II of England who reigned between 1660 and 1685) once heard a prophecy that if ravens left the Tower of London it would ‘fall’.
Since then seven ravens have been kept at the Tower of London.
Ravens are the traditional guardians of the ancient walls of the Tower of London
To keep the birds from flying away, the Raven Master clips their lifting feathers. The procedure doesn’t hurt them in any way; it simply unbalances their flight so they won’t stray from the Tower.
Since 1987, the Tower has ran a successful raven breeding program.