"When I mess with it, all hell breaks loose - chaos, absolute chaos." "I let the non-dominant ones out first so they can go to their territories around the tower, and at night time, I do that in reverse," Skaife told Lynch. In caring for the ravens, Skaife has got into some precarious situations.įor example, he must respect the ravens' "pecking order." And from that moment onwards, I said to myself, 'If I ever take over as ravenmaster, this is never going to happen again." "I picked him up and held him to my chest and he died in my arms. "By the time I actually got down to him, I could see that he was, you know, he was dying," Skaife said. Munin was lighter and glided to safety Thor landed hard on the floor many storeys below. Christopher Skaife, Tower of London ravenmasterīut the birds then jumped.
I picked him up and held him to my chest and he died in my arms. The change was inspired in part by one of Skaife's hardest days on the job.Īfter two of the ravens, Munin and Thor, hopped to the top of scaffolding in place for repair work, Skaife climbed up to help them down. Skaife has a close relationship with the seven ravens he cares for, especially the independent-minded Merlina. Now Skaife uses what he calls "feather management," trimming as little as possible and allowing the birds to fly for exercise, adventure and safety. But his aim is to keep them as wild as possible by letting the ravens fly freely and enticing them back with food - dead mice, dead rats and biscuits soaked in blood - and the comforts of the enclosure.īefore Skaife took over as r avenmaster, the ravens' flight feathers were trimmed to keep them close to home. Skaife has a close relationship with the seven ravens he cares for, especially the independent-minded Merlina. "They need to be looked at, observed and watched in awe at how beautiful they are and how intelligent they are," he said. Ravens were once a common sight across England, but their numbers have dwindled. Skaife, who lives in the tower, sees the role of the ravens as partly educational for the three million visitors to the tower every year. Skaife says the ravens have made him appreciate the life around him more.
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