1.0The Living Desert Zoo and Gardenshttps://www.livingdesert.orgLT Dev Teamhttps://www.livingdesert.org/author/ltdevteam/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="LWFQzobHLb"><a href="https://www.livingdesert.org/zoo-news/conservation-news/raven-populations-are-thriving-in-the-coachella-valley-this-is-perilous-for-local-wildlife/">Raven Populations Are Thriving in the Coachella Valley. This Is Perilous for Local Wildlife!</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.livingdesert.org/zoo-news/conservation-news/raven-populations-are-thriving-in-the-coachella-valley-this-is-perilous-for-local-wildlife/embed/#?secret=LWFQzobHLb" width="600" height="338" title="“Raven Populations Are Thriving in the Coachella Valley. This Is Perilous for Local Wildlife!” — The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens" data-secret="LWFQzobHLb" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); //# sourceURL=https://www.livingdesert.org/wp-includes/js/wp-embed.min.js /* ]]> */ </script> The California desert ravens were once occasional occupants of the Coachella Valley. In the past we were merely a stop for them on their migrating path. However, their population has grown seventeen times larger within the last fifty years and most now occupy the Coachella Valley as their permanent home. This immense population growth has occurred because ravens have been privileged with a multitude of supplemental resources such as food, water, and nesting sites provided by our desert cities. Ravens find food from people who feed them intentionally and unintentionally with food from open trash cans or dumpsters; they find water from overactive or broken sprinkler systems and man-made ponds; and they find many new potential nesting sites on our power poles and infrastructure. While these extra resources allow ravens to thrive in a human-dominated ecosystems, they have ultimately disrupted the natural balance by eating any animal smaller than them and endangering other native wildlife species while also trashing our own human communities. It is ultimately up to us to reverse the problem and put our desert ecosystem back into balance. Ravens are the largest members of the crow family and have become a nuisance to our community. Ravens have been deemed one of the world’s smartest birds, with their intelligence levels matching those of dolphins, chimpanzees, and five-year-old humans. This intelligence has helped them thrive in our human-made ecosystem. Local restaurant managers have even witnessed ravens opening partially closed dumpster lids themselves to access discarded food. The overabundance of ravens has been a problem for the community as they throw trash everywhere and create an unhealthy and unappealing environment. Ravens cause problems not only for our human community but also for other local species. Ravens prey on owls, lizards, small mammals, other small birds and reptiles, and our state reptile - the desert tortoise. Native to our local deserts, the desert tortoise is federally listed as a threatened species and may soon become endangered due to the survival challenges they face including extreme levels of raven predation. Ravens have learned that young desert tortoises, who have soft and easy-to-puncture shells until around five years of age, can make for a yummy snack. Now that countless desert tortoises are being eaten before they reach reproductive age, they are no longer re-populating at a rate that can sustain the species’ survival. As raven populations continue to soar, desert tortoise populations will continue to suffer.