The root of the wolf-raven relationship stems from the same connection shared between all predators and scavengers. Predators catch prey, take their fill, pass it along to less dominant members of the group, and when everyone's done, scavengers dive in and take their share of what's left. Birds, such as vultures and eagles, make especially excellent scavengers, as Wild Bird Revolution explains, because they can literally swoop in and out of a situation. They spy carrion from a distance, wait for its predator to leave, dive in to pick at a carcass, and easily flee if they feel threatened.

Ravens, in particular, are extremely adept at scavenging. Unlike some other scavengers, though, they don't wait very long to take their share. They'll hover, land, hop around a bit, harass, peck at some meat, and then flit away unscathed. Wolves, in response, have taken to "wolfing down" their food in order to avoid it being stolen. This is especially true because ravens, like wolves, are social animals. They congregate on a carcass en masse and intimidate the original predator, even wolves. In fact, it's been suggested that the entire reason wolves hunt in packs is in order to avoid all their food being stolen by ravens, as Isla Royal tells us, because a single wolf can take down even a moose by itself.

As Yellowstone Forever says, the everyday lives of wolves and ravens are so closely linked that ravens are often referred to as "wolf birds."

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunB%2BmHJuaXFfqbWmedSnnLGolZjBprCMq5ylmaSevK%2B%2Fx6KnZpqVqcSmsc1mrqikpprAbq3NnWSrmaaau7R7