He’s one of a kind ❤️️
In early summer, a Good Samaritan stumbled across a mysterious animal on the ground near Errington, British Columbia. The young white raven couldn’t fly, and his feet were covered in wounds, so the Good Samaritan rushed the rare bird to North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre (NIWRA) for help.
The moment animal care supervisor Derek Downes saw the bird, he knew how special he was — and that saving the raven’s life wouldn’t be easy.
“These ravens have been dubbed ‘the sacred white ravens of Oceanside’ and they’ve been documented here since the 1990s,” Downes told The Dodo. “Unfortunately, there’s only been one that’s made it through its first winter.”
“They typically don’t make it to adulthood,” he added.
Downes immediately started administering antibiotics and vitamin and mineral supplements to the raven. The bird wasn’t eating on his own, so Downes had to use a feeding tube to help him gain strength.
The raven responded well to the medication and began to heal. “Now he’s eating on his own and his body condition is really good, so we’ve just pulled him off the second course of antibiotics,” Downes said. “So far, he’s doing really well — no new sores, no signs of infection, and we’re really excited about it.”
No one is sure why these white ravens occasionally show up and then disappear in the Oceanside area, but Downes believes it is connected to their leucism. Leucism is a genetic mutation that causes a reduction in pigment in feathers, skin, and fur.
“His body condition now is fantastic, and he flies a little bit in his enclosure, but unfortunately, these ravens seem to have a very compromised immune system,” Downes explained. “The feather condition of these white ravens is different — they’re much more brittle. And that’s almost assuredly a result of the lack of melanin.”
However, Downes has hope that this white raven may have a better chance since his feathers are a little bit gray, and he has blue eyes rather than pink or red.
“Some of the other ones in the past were stark white, indicating that there was nearly no melanin at all,” Downes said. “So we’re hoping that this little bit of increased melanin might help him do better.”
While it may be an uphill battle to care for this special bird, Downes and his team are doing everything they can to help him thrive.
“We’re up in the Pacific Northwest, and he is a really important raven to the original stewards of the land here — in particular, the Northern Nations,” Downes said. “There’s a lot of cultural significance that goes along with that.”
While at the sanctuary, the raven’s caretakers are working to boost his immune system and improve his feather integrity, and have given him an enclosure with plenty of shade so he can stay out of the harmful UV rays. He also has plenty of toys and puzzles to engage his mind.
There’s no knowing how long this unique raven will have to remain at the sanctuary, but while he’s there, he’ll be receiving four-star service.
“It’s a real honor for us to have him here, and we’re trying to do absolutely everything we can for him,” Downes said.
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