Chris Skaife has a heavy responsibility. As the “lord of the ravens” in the Tower of London, he is watching over the eight birds on which Britain’s survival depends, and the covidu-19 pandemic has made his task more difficult, writes the AFP agency. According to widespread prophecy, the kingdom will collapse and the earth will be thrown into chaos if all the ravens leave the Tower.
Inside the historic fort on the north bank of the Thames, where the royal jewels are stored, eight large ravens live in captivity: Merlin, Poppy, Erin, Jubilee, Rocky, Harris, Gripp and Georgia.
According to the royal decree issued by Charles II in 1630, it is necessary that there are always six birds in this place. Chris Skaife, who has been taking care of them for 14 years, but keeps two more to be in case of need. Their wings are cut off so that they cannot go too far, and so that the prophecy will not come true.
The quarantine announced in the spring to prevent the spread of coronavirus faced an unexpected challenge for Skaife. He had to redouble his efforts to seize the birds that were left without tourists. He plays with them and feeds them so they don’t fly away for food.
At the beginning of the quarantine, the Tower of London closed to visitors. Skaife was out of work for a short time, but he continued to care for the raven.
In his absence, the birds were supervised by three of his co-workers. “They didn’t see anyone but us during this time and I started to notice changes in their behavior,” he says. He placed various toys in the aviary to “stimulate” them: balloons, ladders and mirrors.
At breakfast, Skaife, dressed in a red-and-black uniform of the Tower Guardians, serves them chickens and mice, into which ravens indulge. “The best is Merlina,” he says with a smile.
Once the birds are fed, it opens their aviaries to spread their wings.
The tower opened to visitors on July 10, but the pandemic had a devastating effect on the number of tourists. Now in October, the number of visitors is around 6,000 people a week, which is only a tenth of last year.
According to Skaife, the ravens did not try to fly during the quarantine, but had the opportunity to explore other parts of the fortress more freely. To avoid the risk of flying away, he shortened their wings even more. And more often, he closes them in an aviary to make sure he’s saturated enough: the garbage cans here, which ravens used to fly for food, are empty. He admits that he made this decision with regret. “Their home is not an aviary, but a Tower, and I don’t want to keep them closed,” he explains.
Chris Skaife, who loves these majestic birds very much, has done everything to ensure that quarantine does not disrupt their lives. Of course out of love for them, but also because “above all, we do not want the prophecy to be fulfilled.”
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