Legend of the black crow lives on the Tower of London

Crows in London Tower have their own caretakers, raw meat and blood-soaked biscuits, like coins and will bite people who want to touch them.

Christopher Skaife is an 11-year bodyguard on the Tower of London, once a prison and a royal residence. People like Skaife are often known for nicknames Beefeaters. However, the title that makes Skaife the most proud is Ravenmaster, who carries the thought of protecting and maintaining the safety of the black crow that lives in the tower.

According to legend, there must be at least 6 crows in the fortress, otherwise the throne and the Kingdom will collapse. Therefore, these crows need caregivers and Skaife's work has in fact existed for hundreds of years.

Skaife has been taking care of the crows for 11 years. (Photo: Mentalfloss).

No one knows when the black crow came to London Tower for the first time, only to know they have stayed here for centuries. According to the remaining documents, King Charles II was superstitious and always feared the ravens because they represented bad omen. At that time, the first astronomical observatory was located in the northeast of the White Tower. John Flamsteed - an astronomer who asked Charles II for permission to chase away the crows because they hindered observation. Initially the king intended to destroy them all, but then a prophecy came down saying that, if all the crows left, the White Tower would collapse and the kingdom would sink in disaster. Too scared, the king changed his mind and ordered at least 6 ravens to remain in the tower to prevent the prophecy from becoming true.

There are now seven crows living in the Tower of London, including: Hardey, Thor, Odin, Gwyllum, Cedric, Munin and Merlina. In which Mernila is named "star" with a proud appearance. It proved friendly to humans and alienated the other 6 children, living separately in a cage at Queen's House.

Merlina's "Star" of London tower. (Photo: Ravenmaster).

In addition to guiding visitors to London Tower, Skaife is also responsible for feeding crows. Each animal consumes about 300 grams of meat per day and eats blood-soaked biscuits. In order to prevent the crows from flying off the tower, Skaife had to shorten one side of the wing to make them lose their balance and never stray too far. However, it is because of the love of fresh blood, crows sometimes appear quite aggressive. Skaife once saw a crow attack a dove and kill in just 3 minutes.

Skaife also revealed Munin in the flock called "black widow". It has arranged for two partners to die. Munin leads 2 "guys " onto the tower and asks them to fly down. However, because the wings were cut short, one of them fell and died, the other one, too, flew down the River Thames and drowned. Munin is now paired with a younger one.

Crows proved to hate humans. (Photo: Ravenmaster).

A note for visitors to visit London Tower is to note the crows . They have a hobby of stealing, especially coins . After getting the money, they will find a way to bury it to hide the others in the herd. In addition, crows quite hate humans and will be willing to bite if someone intends to touch them.