'I have, as the Ravenmaster, on one occasion - or maybe two or three - swung on the spire of the tower up there, trying to catch a naughty raven,' he says. That's occasionally led to some precarious situations.

So what I actually do is that I'll trim up the odd flight feather or two.' But he doesn't truly clip their wings - and he doesn't like the term 'clipped.' I am the Ravenmaster, I don't want the ravens to fly off, otherwise I'll be out of a job.

'There are legends and myths associated with the ravens. So you won't hear a 'Nevermore' echoing across the green - and Merlina and her colleagues are surprisingly free to fly around. At one point, Skaife turns around and yells 'I'm telling this story, not you!'īut she doesn't do tricks on command - while there have been ravens in the past who could croak out a few words in English, Skaife says he's committed to keeping these ravens as wild as possible. And he's trying to explain his precise morning routine to me, but we keep getting interrupted by hungry ravens. He's been on the job for a while by the time I turn up, making sure yesterday's tours and events haven't left any dangerous debris around the Tower that might harm his charges. Skaife says the ravens often bury their food and come back to it later - and they're particularly partial to eating all the tasty soft bits of a rat, leaving just the head and hide, which he refers to with delighted disgust as a 'rat-skin rug.' 'What would you like,' he coos to them, 'would you like some mice?'īreakfast of champions: A plastic bin full of slightly gory mice and a choice rat or two. Luckily, Skaife tells me, these particular ravens are disinclined to leave they want to stay where the food is. Because of course, as legend has it, if the ravens ever leave the Tower, it will crumble to dust and a great harm will come to England. Skaife is the Ravenmaster - one of the Tower's famous uniformed yeoman warders, his particular job is to take care of the seven resident ravens. Except in one corner, where there's a large, luxurious wood-and-wire enclosure that contains some very hungry ravens, hopping and croaking as they spot Christopher Skaife approaching with breakfast. How?Īt 7am, the Tower of London is peaceful - no tour groups, just distant traffic noise, and if you believe the legends, a ghost or three.

Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Close overlay Buy Featured Book Title The Ravenmaster Subtitle My Life With the Ravens at the Tower of London Author Christopher Skaife

The ravenmaster