Watching us with an icy cold stare and studying our everyday moves with an almost arrogant lack of fear of humans to begin with, ravens start a viral-like chain reaction one beautiful spring day. The slight breeze that feels warm and inviting to you is carrying a bird-to-human contractible disease called Histoplasmosis, spread by fungal spores released into the air when contaminated soil or droppings are disturbed. Acting just like a mutated virus, it is causing a quick lung infection that kills its victims... or does it? Like a scene out of a zombie movie, birds & humans alike that are infected transform into what is sometimes referred to as "the undead."
Zoonosis by definition: an infectious disease caused by a pathogen that has jumped from a non-human animal to a human. Typically, the first infected human transmits the infectious agent to at least one other human, who, in turn, infects others.
Ravens have been referenced numerous times in the bible from the beginning of time (such quotes will be included in this article). An important point I would choose to make about the popular theme of zombies eating us is that the human-turned-zombie is not intelligent. They are reactive. If they are reactive, why would they attack healthy humans? The zombie body, reacting to the same stimuli as when alive, wouldn't be seeking out other humans to devour. In addition, another common, contrived zombie claim I would contradict is zombie strength, a claim perpetuated no doubt due to zombies no longer being restricted from lactic acid buildup in the muscles from extended exertion. They should not be able to run. Decomposition of muscles should prevent that increasingly as time progresses. You should be able to disable them from standing/walking by targeting the limbs. As far as their grouping up, they are all just pursuing the same food source as far as they are concerned. Aside from those reasons, the main reason to contradict the idea of human zombies is they shouldn't be able to move at all. There is no heart beat, and thus rigor mortis factors in. Muscles, require fuel to function and that requires a functioning circulatory system, including undamaged organs capable of extracting and producing that fuel from blood, the very blood that is no longer being circulated or oxygenated. The zombie body should continue to decay on its own in an increasingly quick, progressive process.
A muscle cell needs fuel to have the energy to do work. That fuel is burned and creates waste. The only way to get the fuel and get rid of the waste is to have a functional circulatory system. That also means other organs must be intact to produce that fuel and extract the waste from the blood. So, the real "zombie" danger is not from the dead, but from the living. Taking a cue from movies such as "28 Days Later," the zombie is not a 'dead' person. A virus has compelled each living person into a raging desire to attack and, yes, eat others unlike themselves. I guess prejudice does come in all shapes and sizes. Also in this particular case, the zombies could have the ability to run and be fast enough to catch you. Sweet dreams tonight about that!
Getting back to the idea of "dead" zombies, I dismiss the idea of reactive dead humans being a concern and instead focus on "instinctive" creatures such as birds and specifically a more intelligent type of bird... the raven. Successful brain reanimation experiments of dead animals has indicated no noticed cellular communication, meaning no awareness or perception, basically what we would describe as thought. If we take that concept one step further with a highly reactive bird like the raven, you have a recipe for a true zombie apocalypse. A flock of flying zombie ravens would constitute a formidable challenge, even if they no longer possessed a cognitive ability to coordinate an attack.
The raven is the largest member of the crow family with a noticeable intelligence. Crows, when congregating in groups, are called "a murder of crows." No need for a name change if they change to zombies! But, we can handle a bunch of birds, right? Remember the bird-to-human contractible disease, Histoplasmosis, that I mentioned at the beginning of this article? Well, consider the current coronavirus spreading around the globe. From what is known, it is not so much a threat as an airborne disease but rather one being transferred between people via contact by respiratory droplets from coughing or sneezing within six feet of another person. Infection can also be caused by contact with saliva, blood, phlegm, etc. Dr. Jeffrey D. Klausner, professor of medicine and public health at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA states most masks won’t prevent coronavirus infection. “The viruses are too small, and the air readily flows around the bridge of the nose and on the sides of the mask,” Klausner explained. “So those masks are not really designed to prevent people from inhaling viruses. What they are designed to do is to prevent people from coughing or sneezing respiratory viruses that they might have outward.” (Beware of scam artists selling little bird masks that claim an ability to filter to that degree).
Ravens have survived and flourished in this human dominated world for thousands of years (Job: 8:41 - "Who provides nourishment for the ravens when their young ones cry out to God"). Their range includes the extensive climate extremes from the frozen Artic Circle to hot, dry deserts. They live in forests, mountains, on sea coasts and major populated urban areas. They have survived, even thrived, where so many other creatures have been pushed to the brink of extinction, become extinct, or had their numbers greatly diminished by mankind's intrusions into and lack of respect for their spaces. (Luke: 12-24 - "Consider the ravens: they do not sow, they do not reap, they have neither cellar nor barn - yet God feeds them. How much more important you are than the birds!")
What exactly makes this type of "living zombie" outbreak a more plausible threat? Consider these research facts garnered about ravens. They are both predator and scavenger (Genesis 8:3 - "... and he sent out a raven, to see if the waters had lessened on the earth.") in seizing their opportunities for sources of food, and because this gathering has often included dead bodies of both animals and humans, they have been considered an omen of death since ancient times. Even the Quran references this as it parallels the Bible with this quote: "God sent a raven which by scratching in the earth showed Cain how to bury his brother." Sometimes congregating in the thousands, they display a cognant communication method that has been catalogued in the vicinity of 250 different calls, some of which even sound similar to recordings of alleged Bigfoot vocalizations and can be heard a mile away. They even are known to come to the aid of other ravens not currently in their related grouping. I recently witnessed a hawk attempting to harass a raven nest. The raven parents sent out a call to arms with long, deep, harsh vocalizations as they began a defense of their nest. Reminiscent of an aerial combat dogfight from the movie "Top Gun," not only the raven nest parents, but an increasing number of ravens joined from parts unknown to harass and chase off the hawk. The sounds made by the ravens changed at that time to short, repetitive, high-pitched shrieks. At one point I counted nine ravens involved in the battle! The others had joined in after calls came from the initial pair of ravens. After the hawk was finally chased off, the various ravens that had joined in settled down on separate rooftops nearby, seemingly calling out to each other in a more relaxed manner, as if analyzing the battle and discussing joint plans in preparation for any future hawk assaults. Again, their calls had changed at this time to softer, shorter blips of sound, indicative of a calm settling back in. This shows an ability to exert control over their calls in a goal-directed manner and thus their vocalizations are not just a reflexive response.. It is this type of coordination, cooperation and communication among them that would make them a formidable living-zombie opponent.
[In 2013, Andreas Nieder, a neuroscientist at the University of Tübingen, studied the neuronal activity of crows during the problem-solving process, in the part of the brain that functions as the mammalian neocortex and is responsible for making decisions, short-term memory and planning. Upon examining this, Nieder's team discovered that the neuronal activity in the NCL nucleus (nidopallium caudolaterale) of a crow is the same as in the primate cortex . In addition, other Nieder studies have proven the cognitive richness of crow brains, and how the way in which their neurons are distributed in circuits makes them have twice as many neurons as primates according to their mass.]
Just how serious do people take ravens? Consider that in English mythology, if there are less than six ravens in the Tower of London, it is considered a prediction of some sort of coming doom. This raven folklore was taken so seriously by the English government during World War II that the idea of clearing the Tower of London of any roosting birds was objected to and dismissed.
Some more raven facts: Their intelligence ranks them among the top of all birds. One such example is exhibiting problem-solving abilities such as dropping nuts in the road to be cracked open by passing vehicles. Another is mastering water displacement in a glass tube to bring an out of reach treat within grasping range (1 Kings:17 - "You shall drink of the stream, and I have commanded ravens to feed you there"). They remember and avoid areas that had previously presented a danger to them or where another raven has been killed. Research indicates the seeming holding of grudges when treated against their desires, even showing tendencies to remember the faces of humans they have met (Proverbs 30:17 - "The eye that mocks a father or scorns an aged mother, will be plucked out by the ravens in the valley"). They also have been shown to make emotional associations in identity recognition similar to those of mammals, going so far as exhibiting tendency toward gifting reciprocity. So, be nice to the birds and don't piss them off. If the living-zombie raven apocalypse occurs, your "wanted" poster could be found in the Raven equivalent of the post office.
It appears that the Creator has even established some unfair, unequal ground rules for the Raven Apocalypse as referenced in Deuteronomy 14:12-14 - "You may eat all clean birds" ... "But you shall not eat any of the following: ... all the various species of crows." So, we cannot eat them, but they can eat us???!!!
We all know what treaties are. There are no more perfect examples of treaties than the countless ones agreed to and violated by the U.S. Government as it pertains to the indigenous of North America. In the U.S., ravens are a protected bird under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Now, I don't know who the hell sat down and signed for the birds, but the treaty forbids killing, possession or sale of, barter, transporting or exporting ravens, their body parts, eggs, nests, etc. EXCEPT WITH A VALID FEDERAL PERMIT (which sounds as "easy" to obtain as a passport).
In Norse mythology, ravens were esteemed as valuable messengers of the gods. In Greek mythology they were considered bad luck. The indigenous of North America hold traditions that each person is connected with different animals that will accompany him or her through life, including the raven which is considered a supernatural messenger. This doesn't seem so far fetched a belief to me after my own personal experiences with ravens. After what I believe was an encounter with what the Navajo call "yee naaldlooshii," (a shape-shifter in the form of a bird attacked the car my wife & I were traveling in the area of Monument Valley, Utah) ravens have been noticed by me in the two different places I have since lived, at Devils Tower in Wyoming, and numerous times I have conducted solo hikes in the mountains. At a specific place at about 9,000 feet elevation in the Rockies, in a location where I usually pass on my hiking adventures, I have experienced what I can only explain as "gà’àhhà," god of the four winds as my Cajun Native Medicine Man friend (@cajunmedicinem1) has explained to me, letting me know with a sudden, strong gust of wind seemingly coming out of nowhere that I am not alone. I have noticed the presence of just one type of bird at this location... ravens. Following the advice of my friend, I made an offering of tobacco to show respect and obtain permission to pass peacefully. The ravens are still there, watching, but "gà’àhhà" no longer objects to my presence.
Whatever your activity, whether going to put out the trash, taking a walk where you live, hiking in the mountains, being a tourist visiting a national forest, etc., if you see a raven, stop, take a moment to notice yourself being observed by them, and perhaps realize the scariest thing about them is not how little we know about them, but rather how much they know about us!
Taking poetic license with a popular idiom, I hereby state:
Hell hath no fury, like a raven scorned!
- MoonJoey