Ravens anticipate wolf kill sites across broad scales
Summary
Scavengers generally rely on patchily distributed, unpredictable carrion. A long-standing hypothesis suggests scavenging ravens reliably locate such food by directly following large carnivores to their kills. However, by satellite tracking 69 ravens, 20 wolves, and 11 cougars in Yellowstone National Park, we found that following of predators over large distances rarely occurred. Instead, ravens routinely revisited sites where wolf kills were common-returning from distances of up to 155 kil
Content
# Ravens anticipate wolf kill sites across broad scales
*Published: 2026 Mar 12*
Scavengers generally rely on patchily distributed, unpredictable carrion. A
long-standing hypothesis suggests scavenging ravens reliably locate such food by
directly following large carnivores to their kills. However, by satellite
tracking 69 ravens, 20 wolves, and 11 cougars in Yellowstone National Park, we
found that following of predators over large distances rarely occurred. Instead,
ravens routinely revisited sites where wolf kills were common-returning from
distances of up to 155 kilometers to find carrion. Much like navigating to
permanent anthropogenic subsidies, ravens appear to remember potential sources
of carrion shaped by previous encounters with wolves or their kills. These
findings suggest that spatial memory and navigation play a considerably greater
role than previously assumed among scavengers, and possibly other wide-ranging
species, in search of ephemeral resources.
DOI: 10.1126/science.adz9467