Tap Tap Tapping – the White Raven Comes Calling

Whitie03Another cryptid has shown up to reveal yet another cryptozoological mystery to us! Not quite a monster, this white raven still seems a bit ominous, or maybe I  just have Edgar Allen Poe’s raven on my mind! See for yourself.

Scattered around the mystically beautiful island of Vancouver, BC, in the towns of Port Alberni, Comox, and Tofino, people have been seeing mysterious white birds. Science was able to identify these few, precious creatures as white ravens. While there aren’t many living on the island at this time, that tiny population is still a lot more than we normally see anywhere else on the planet.

Whitie02Science tells us these white ravens were born originally from black feathered parents with a rare genetic defect. While not albino because they do have pigmentation in their eyes, the condition we see is called leucistic meaning their pigmentation is significantly lightened.

According to Julie Mackey who is the assistant manager at the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre, black feathered ravens can live to 30 plus years old and remain faithful to their mate as long as they live. However, the white ravens don’t seem to live as long or reproduce as abundantly as their counterparts.

Whitie04First Nations people keep many white raven tales alive in their culture. For them, the white raven can be the “bringers of light” or annoying tricksters. More ominous tales describe them as harbingers of the end of the world.

For me, they’re just another marvel thrown at us by the abundant resourcefulness of nature. They’re so rare, we should enjoy this brief time we have with them. And as I mentioned, they get me thinking of Edgar Allen Poe.

Will we see lots of these white ravens again in the future? Probably not.  As Poe’s raven wisely foretold “Nevermore.”

 

Nevermore

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I wasn’t able to identify who took the photos for this article. I found them on the web. Apologies to the photographer(s).

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