Home / Environment / Face-Remembering Crows Aggressively Protect Vancouver Chicks
Face-Remembering Crows Aggressively Protect Vancouver Chicks
2 Jul
Summary
- Crows in Vancouver aggressively protect their young during the late spring breeding season.
- An online map, CrowTrax, allows users to report and avoid crow attack hotspots.
- Crows can recognize and remember human faces associated with negative experiences for years.
Each spring, Vancouver residents prepare for an unusual local tradition: aggressive crows protecting their offspring. This behaviour intensifies in late spring when American crows breed and their newly hatched chicks leave the nest but cannot yet fly. Parents fiercely defend these vulnerable young from perceived threats, including humans who wander too close.
To help navigate this seasonal hazard, Vancouverites utilize CrowTrax, a crowdsourced online map. Founded in 2016, this platform allows individuals to report crow attacks and identify danger zones, with hundreds of user contributions annually. Scientific research supports the unsettling reality that crows can recognize human faces, particularly those linked to negative encounters, and may remember them for several years.
Experts advise staying still or moving away if a crow approaches aggressively, recommending umbrellas or hats for protection in known nesting areas. Feeding crows is discouraged, and baby crows found on the ground should be left undisturbed unless injured. Despite these defensive tactics, Vancouverites maintain a generally positive view of crows, appreciating their intelligence and role in the urban ecosystem, especially noting the large crow roost in the Still Creek area.
