Camelot International > Tower of London
David Cope: "The Ravenmaster"
So!!!! What does it take to be Ravenmaster at the Tower of London, are any special qualities required, apart from a love of birds (the feathered variety off course) and how much time is spent looking after these magnificent and almost legendary creatures. In his own words this is what he told me;

"Obviously, to be a Ravenmaster it helps if you can grow to love these birds, which I do. They are a full time commitment requiring many hours of time on top of my other duties as a Yeoman Warder. After fourteen years of looking after these birds I almost feel as though they are part of my family. Like most domestic animals such as cats or dogs once one gets to know the ravens the differences in their ways and personalities begin to shine through.. The odd thing is that the ravens seem to treat me not only as one of their ilk but as their leading raven, which as you can imagine can be a bit unnerving, to say the least.

This is prevalent mostly at night when it is time for me to put them to bed in their nesting sheds. With monotonous regularity the leading raven cock bird swoops down onto the ground directly in front of me and challenges me for superiority of leadership. The first time this happened was many years ago when I first became the Ravenmaster and at first I didn't quite know how to react.

Well, it didn't take me long to realise that the only way to control the birds in an easy and pleasing way would be to actually become a raven when necessary". (Sounds like shades of Edgar Alan Poe again doesn't it but in reality that certainly is what is required of the Tower of London's Ravenmaster). Dave Cope continues "Every night the raven leader, after swooping down in front of me gets into his most aggressive position. With his wings half open, half back and with his neck feathers in a large black ruff he then stares at me and starts to crow. So what do I do???? Well, I do exactly what he does by crouching down, putting my arms in the same position as his wings and mimicking his call. Luckily and obviously, I have a major advantage in our little game by the fact that I am much taller than he is. By casting my shadow over him, then standing up and just generally looming over him he becomes noticeably unnerved and probably thinks, *Blimey, he's big, I'm off* because soon after we have performed our nightly ritual he goes to bed without further delay. Once they have all settled in I can go home and, for a few hours at least take it easy. Having said that, the ravens are never far from my thoughts as they are quite demanding in the fact that they require a lot of attention. They are wonderful creatures though and I really do find being Ravenmaster very rewarding".

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