Anyone who knows the Indian crow would know that the attempts were doomed to failure, since the Indian crow (Corvus splendens) knows how to "get along" with hunters - people and animals, and has learned to adapt and solve problems and in many cases to become an advantage
Some time ago there was an article on TV about the extermination attempts of the Indian crow in Eilat, a camouflaged hunter moving around the city in attempts to reduce the population of the invaders who do not hesitate to attack people.
Anyone who knows the Indian crow would know that the attempts were doomed to failure, as the Indian crow (Corvus splendens) knows how to "get along" with hunters - people and animals, and has learned to adapt and solve problems and in many cases turn to an advantage.
In Dar-e-Salem (Tanzania) and its surroundings, the crows have become a serious nuisance and the authorities are trying to exterminate them with various methods ranging from shooting, poisoning, trapping to throwing stones and are not successful. Later I will return to the similarity between Dar and Eilat.
There are those who describe the Indian crow as a "tactical warrior" who moves the battle into enemy territory, harassing people in open areas, on city streets and even inside buildings. Researchers describe him as an invader that nature equipped him with a survival strategy in a human environment mainly in big cities.
Like many of his family members (Arabs) he is smart and has sharp eyesight and in places where they try to shoot him, he knows how to distinguish between a gun and a stick or to identify someone who is preparing to throw a stone at him.
The Indian crow builds its nest in tall trees, when the food is plentiful (like the garbage in Eilat) it reproduces successfully when there are about seven eggs in each clutch and in good conditions there are two or even three cycles of laying and breeding each year. The pair of parents jealously guard the chicks - and this is a reason for some of the attacks on people.
From their area of origin in the north of the Indian subcontinent, the flocks of crows first spread to the entire subcontinent and further west through islands in the Indian Ocean to East and South Africa, to Iran, along the Red Sea and the Gulf of Eilat to Israel, and today there are reports of Indian crows in the Netherlands as well.
Back to Dar-e-Salem, for several years war has been declared on the invader, because according to the "fighters" the invader is seriously harming the economy by harassing tourists in lodges near the big city. Those tourists who "hang out" on the beach or who try to eat in open restaurants have to "fight" for their food against aggressive groups that nest nearby. The nesting causes additional dirt and stench.
Of course, part of the problem is those tourists who willingly share food with the intruders in order to win a "selfie" with a crow. The intruders have learned the source of the food and engage in kidnapping or collecting leftovers near the diners.
The Indian crow is an environmental hazard and is suspected of being a carrier of intestinal diseases such as cholera and salmonella. When a flock of crows invades food warehouses or "attacks" an open market, there is clearly a risk. When trying to assess its environmental damage, it should be taken into account that it is usually close to settlements and therefore its environmental damage in open areas is not significant, even in Eilat the "attacks" on people do not reduce the "benefit" that the crow has in significantly reducing the pigeon flocks. The filth that the pigeons create is a far worse injury than any crow and this brings me back to the reason why I refer to the Indian crow. The two cities that suffer especially from the invader are Dar-e-Salem (in Tanzania) and Eilat. The distance between them is great, Dar is tens of thousands bigger than Eilat, the two cities are near the beach and Eilat prides itself on being "modern".
indeed? The thing that makes it easier for the crows to invade, and that gave the first invaders the push and the environmental advantage, is a less than flattering similarity between Dar and Eilat. Both cities offer the invaders available and nutritious food sources. In both, quantities of visible garbage are scattered in the streets, on the beach and everywhere. The nutritious garbage allows the invaders to establish themselves and multiply.
Hooray for imagination.
10 תגובות
The crows are the most intelligent birds in the world. The relationship within their community is as close as the relationship between humans. If they take out a dead crow, they go to others and give it respect as at human funerals. In concrete terms, the crow is a sacred bird. To kill a crow is like a doe kill 1000 monks. In general, nature is sacred there. The crows do not forget if someone harms them and they take revenge. Not like the poor foxes, whom the children abuse and take out with impunity. Children, be careful, do not touch the crows. They do not forgive those who hurt them. Emma Gatti
As for the sparrow, it nests in eucalyptus trees and isadrachta (foreign species). The attitude towards Israeli nature as a flat sheet is a mistake! In my opinion, the extinction of species (mainly endemics) should be prevented. And not exterminate invasive species just because they are foreign.
In my military service, which was in the Arava region. I remember crows coming to eat the leftovers. The golden jackal/Mtzoi was naturally diluted by the rabies disease (which fortunately is not common). The problem is that there are more predators than prey. Sometimes it seems that there is too close a relationship between nature conservationists and hunters, wood contractors, and farmers. When there is no pig trail, then pruning is necessary, and this is nature engineering, not nature conservation. So, regarding invasive species, it should not be excluded as a "new" factor.
I learned a few things from the article...but mostly I learned a few facts from the Indian Crow in Eilat. The Indian crow in Eilat nests once a year, unless it is disturbed at the beginning of nesting and then the couple will make another nest. In Eilat, as a result of combining measures to reduce the population, the number of crows decreased from 1200 about 10 years ago, to 200 last year. Indeed, the crow is "smart", but if you persevere and use the right methods, you can defeat it. Indeed he lives only inside the cities and hence his damage is mainly to urban nature. And it is indeed harmful!
He can't do with the pigeons, but he knows how to harass migratory birds, ferret and kill chicks of other birds in the city.
I don't know where 9 gets the data from, but:
- The accepted definition for a new species in the environment that came from another place is: invasive species,
- An eruptive species is a species that exists in the environment due to environmental and other changes
Its population has grown above normal, an increase that may harm other species.
- Since the Indian crow is "restricted" to urban settlements, its damage to local species is minimal,
- The sparrow invades the nests of other birds and thus causes damage.
- The jackal returns to habitats where it has always been and disappeared due to poisoning,
His return to chapters, reserves, agricultural areas and open areas... welcome!
The singularity of the comparison to a person is out of place, perhaps the local gray crow will prevent the Indian crow from advancing throughout Israel. The Indian crow is a nuisance to humans but a danger to the local nature. I am against animal poaching. But in a small country like ours, nature is more sensitive. A list of animal species that are in danger of extinction due to exploding species: green lizard, alimon, hubra, hardon turtle, gray power and many more.
If you want to preserve biological diversity, then you have to hunt Indian crows intensively. It seems to me that the exploding species are part of the evolutionary process. But I would not want a world with the danger of crows in the style of Hitchcock's film.
So what is the solution? disconnections? Nuclear deal? Is there any chance at all to get rid of the invading crows before they spread throughout Zion?
The cattle egret, drinking dogs, common cormorant, in the past wild boars (unfortunately they have become extinct in many areas of the country due to extensive hunting). Species erupt in Israel not only because of garbage, these are also the rich nature. For example, extensive vegetation, rich fish, water sources, or an outbreak of rodents/mice. Sometimes stray dogs come from Gaza and Sinai, because there is a hunter and water here, Indian crows are a Mecca in every bay The Red Sea, but in Eilat there are nesting places and water as well as food and hunting for other birds.
Perhaps the definition is an eruptive species, because the common (local) jackal also causes a lot of damage. The Indian crow hunts and broods the eggs of local and endemic birds (and may cause the extinction of other species). Like the local jackal. The jackal, which is an invasive species, but does not harm the biodiversity (perhaps expanding the biodiversity. Because in Israel's diverse and isolated habitats, new archetypes can be created. Less so in the mobile birds)