It takes a lot to get me to appear in front of the camera. I’m not keen on my photo being taken, but I’m even less keen on being filmed. So, you can imagine that it would have to be a cause that I’m pretty passionate about to get me in front of the camera…and a little while ago I did just that. Presenter and conservationist Jamie Wyver had written a timely poem called ‘Zoophobia’ about how the news media creates scare stories about wildlife and I got to film myself reading a line of it for a video of the full piece! Please watch the video below and give Jamie a follow on Twitter if you’re not already doing so.
If you follow me on Instagram, you’re probably aware that I often feel quite depressed due to the seemingly constant bad (and often sometimes completely fictional) press that some species get in the UK. It is often our most intelligent and resourceful wildlife that appear as figureheads for the ‘human/wildlife conflict’ when they arguably have the most in common with us! Corvids, gull species and foxes all spring instantly to mind. I’ve been thinking that, as well as continuing to ‘fight’ against this by campaigning and supporting the organisations that speak out on behalf of our wildlife, I should do more to provide information to help people to make up their own minds about some of the crazier wildlife stories they read in the papers.
This image was captured on a very cold and frosty morning in December 2012 in Richmond Park. I spotted this magnificent red deer stag with three jackdaws bouncing around it and onto its back. Some media outlets have used similar images to this to show that corvids have been attacking livestock. However, when you see this type of image the behaviour you’re seeing is the complete opposite – instead of hurting the deer, these jackdaws are helping it. I should probably point out that the stag is yawning in this image, not bellowing in pain or anger!
Corvids, such as these jackdaws, are highly intelligent and adaptable. Jackdaws, like other corvid species, have a diet that varies with the seasons and their location. In a farmland setting, you may see jackdaws perched on top of a sheep or cow’s head or back and you may also see them appearing to peck at the poor animal. However, as shown in this image, these birds are picking parasites, such as ticks, maggots and insects from the coat of the animal. It may look odd, but it’s mutually beneficial as the livestock get the potentially harmful hangers-on removed by the other hangers-on who get fed in the process! Sometimes the birds may be removing old fur or fleece that they will use as nesting material.
This mutualistic relationship can look quite different in a static image, particularly when it has a headline attached involving ‘menace’ and ‘attacks’, but it’s always worth bearing in mind that different species have learnt to coexist over many many years and not everything is as it first appears. I hope I may convince some people to take a second look.