Crows, long identified as highly intelligent animals, have been experimentally proven they be vindictive and, in addition, will be revengeful towards human beings who have harmed them. An innovative research thus far has given the facts that such intelligent birds not only are able to remember human faces, but they can also hold a grudge for a long time, and if they find those they consider as threats will be aggressive.
The Study: How Crows Remember Their Enemies
The University of Washington research workers have performed experiments that prove that crows can perceive and remember human faces that were accompanied by bad situations. In one such research, the experimenters were wearing masks which represented the “dangerous” characters, and they seized bandied wild crows, while at the same time, there were others who wore “neutral” masks.
Again, not only that, the crows may further have full-on protests and attack, dive-bomb the figures donning the “dangerous” mask,s revealing that the threat was no longer thereSeveralof crows at this point have become their offspring’s informants; they have thus come to be whole communities of birds that today, years after the initial encounters of the masked researchers, continue to annoy them in this manner.
Revenge Behavior: Do Crows Act on Their Grudges?
Just for recognizing a human, the crows have crossed a boundary and are now observed with behaviors that can be interpreted as planned revenge. There are several instances when crows:
- Viciously fought and attacked people who did bad things to them.
- They decided to throw things in a place where the person they did not like was present.
- They did not only avoid people they disliked but went a step further and also warned others, essentially, a kind of “blacklist” was created for those people.
In the past, the same behaviors were also necessary, such as the cognitive capabilities of the crows, their problem-solving abilities, and social learning skills, from which scientists and enthusiasts have long been fascinated.
Why Do Crows Hold Grudges?
In terms of evolution, it can be said that the phenomenon of grudges might be directly related to survival in terms of the evolutionary process of the species. The memory and avoidance of threats serve as a protection for them. Their memory supports them not only in the recognition of trustworthy sources of food but also in the identification of the friends they can rely on in the community.
What This Means for Humans
According to the conclusions of this research, it can be said that if crows are wronged, regardless of seasons or without intention, then the consequences will be felt for a long time. In the case where a crow is convinced that a human represents danger for it, the crow’s response may be not only in the form of an attack but also an effort to convince others to do the same.
However, shooting a crow also brings benefits, and that is, the impact may be long-lasting. That is, it will result in a crow not only becoming sympathetic towards the human but also continuously doing so (like providing shiny things) to those people it trusts.
Final Thoughts
The mental ability of crows has been proven to be very high, thus, the contribution of this research to the evidence from their intricate social behaviors is significant. During the next encounter with a crow, the person must bear in mind that, to the crow, the person is being evaluated and that the crow will never forget it.
