Thursday, October 27, 2011

A town where they fire fireworks at Crows

In Terre Haute they have a Crow Patrol which fires fireworks at crows. But Crows are resilient...
Humans have tried to keep crows away since forever. They have used scarecrows to feign human presence. They have hung sulfur-dipped rags to remind crows of gunpowder. They have mounted dead crows on sticks. They have sent out hawks, banged pots, laid out strychnine, shot off guns, paid bounties. Still the crows come, as if to peck away at our sense of superiority.

Crows are too intelligent to fall twice for most tricks. They care for their young and sick. They communicate through a vocabulary that goes well beyond “caw.” They use tools. They take note of our behavioral patterns and, even, our faces.

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