The common ravens are medium-sized birds from the family Corvidae and genus Corvus. The scientific name of the species is Corvus corax.
They are a very common bird species found across the world in different countries like entire North America, Europe, and South East Asia.
Eight different subspecies of ravens are found in different places which have different variations in their outer features.
Research also shows that they have genetic differences among the different species populations.
The species was named raven after the ancient English word Hrafn. Old Norse Hrafn is the word from which the name was derived, which means to clear the throat depicting their voice.
And In this article, we are going to find out the Raven’s lifespan both in the wild and in captivity, and also talk about factors affecting their lifespan.
How Long Do Ravens Live In Wild?
In the wild, the average lifespan of a raven varies from 10-15 years. They may live as long as 20-30 years, but there is no concrete evidence for it.
The reason behind this could be the threat from wild animals and competition among themselves.
Scientific research states that most ravens die within 1year of their age. The longest living raven in the wild was 21 years old.
How Long Do Ravens Live In Captivity?
The average lifespan of the ravens in captivity can be quite long, ranging between 40-60years.
They don’t have the constant danger and threat to their life like in the wild. With good food habits and proper care, they can live much longer.
The ravens can be too high maintenance and their food habits are not compatible with human beings.
Can a Raven Live for 50, 100, 200, and 300 Years?
With proper care and fooding, ravens can live for 50 years in captivity but definitely not in the wild due to the physical barriers.
Now the fact about 100, 200, and 300 is completely wrong. Ravens don’t have a lifespan of more than 80 years.
What is the longest-living raven?
In captivity, the lifespan of a raven can be 70 years or above but scientific data shows that a raven lived for 80 years. Though any solid proof regarding this data hasn’t been recorded yet.
Factors Affecting Lifespan Of Ravens?
- Age: In wild ravens, the mortality rate is higher in the early stage of their lifetime. The death rates are higher in the first year of their life, after that the death rate is low and remains stable throughout the rest of their life.
- Location: The average lifespan of a raven in captivity is longer than its lifespan in the wild.
- Competition among the species: Because of their wide distribution across the globe, ravens have a higher competition for food, nesting sites, and territories. This results in a higher mortality rate and less lifespan for a raven.
- Brags in their breeding season: The breeding seasons of ravens have smaller chances of survival after they are sexually mature.
- Territorial conflicts: In the wild, territorial disputes are common among ravens both between the male and female species. They may also attack other species of birds and even human beings if they think that they are intruders in their territory.
- Predation by predators like wild cats, hawks, etc.
- Survival after birth: After the mother lays eggs and babies are born, they are attacked by predators like owls, eagles, vultures, etc, and some die if not provided proper protection by the parents. Also after growing up, the strongest baby can kill the others by kicking them off the nest.
Do Crows’ Lifespans the same as ravens?
Crows have a smaller structure than the ravens and also have small beaks. The American crows have an average lifespan of 7-9 years in the wild while in captivity it increases to approximately 20 years, with proper care and food.
Whereas the raven’s lifespan is 10-15 years in the wild and up to 70-80 years depending upon the care, in captivity. Hence it can be stated easily that ravens have a longer lifespan than crows.
Unknown Facts About Ravens:
- A group of ravens is known as unkindness.
- They are highly intelligent and can remember faces.
- They can mimic different voices and have specific gestures for communication.
- Ravens can live anywhere.
- They have friends and enemies around their own species.
- They are known to be good hunters.
- Ravens travel in groups before pairing up to start breeding.
- They are famous creatures in mythology and folklore.
- Ravens can be white feathered because of a rare pigment condition called leucism, which gives them their fair feathers and, sometimes, blue eyes.
Conclusion
The ravens are of great quality in both wild and also in captivity, as a pet. Great mythical stories and superstitions can be heard among people regarding them.
I hope you learned something new from this article.
Thanks for reading!
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