Skip to content

Ravens Revisited Yellowstone Wolf-kill Hotspots Instead of Following Wolves Over Long Distances

GPS-tagged common raven standing in snow in Yellowstone
Research · Behaviour

Common ravens (Corvus corax) in Yellowstone National Park, USA rarely followed wolves over long distances to find carcasses. A study published in Science in March 2026 instead found that the birds repeatedly returned to parts of the landscape where wolf kills had occurred frequently in the past.

The researchers satellite-tracked 69 ravens, 20 wolves and 11 cougars. During 2.5 years of monitoring, they found only one clear case in which a raven followed a wolf for more than one kilometre or more than an hour. Overall, 48.5% of the recorded wolf kills were used by at least one GPS-tagged raven within the first seven days after the kill, compared with 24.8% of cougar kills.

Ravens navigated toward historic wolf-kill hotspots

Movement tracks showed highly directional journeys toward areas with a high historical density of wolf kills. Some ravens travelled as far as 155 km in a single day. They were also much more likely to revisit parts of Yellowstone where wolf kills had previously been common than areas where kills were rare.

The authors interpret the pattern as evidence that spatial memory and navigation play a larger role in raven scavenging than the long-standing idea that the birds mainly locate new carcasses by tailing predators. Because wolf kills cluster repeatedly in particular parts of the landscape, ravens can return to areas with a higher chance of finding carrion even when the timing of the next kill is unpredictable.

Sources and image credit

  1. Loretto, M.-C., Beck, K. B., Smith, D. W., Stahler, D. R., Walker, L. E., Wikelski, M., Mueller, T., Safi, K., & Marzluff, J. M. (2026). Ravens anticipate wolf kill sites across broad scales. Science, 391(6790), 1151–1154. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adz9467Primary peer-reviewed study published 12 March 2026. Researchers tracked 69 ravens, 20 wolves and 11 cougars in Yellowstone National Park for 2.5 years. Prolonged wolf-following was documented only once, while ravens repeatedly revisited areas where wolf kills were common and travelled from distances of up to 155 km to find carrion. The authors interpret the movement patterns as evidence for an important role of spatial memory and navigation in locating ephemeral food.

Image: Matthias Loretto / Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior — GPS-tagged common raven from the Yellowstone study, with the tracking antenna visible. · Editorial use in connection with this study; credit Matthias Loretto · Source

About this content: This story was produced with AI assistance within an editorial workflow developed by Wildlife Vagabond. Editorial responsibility remains with Wildlife Vagabond.How AI is used

Behaviour

SPECIES IN THIS STORY

Species in this story

Common Raven Corvus corax Explore species

Independent research and conservation news archive

Did you find this information useful?

Wildlife Vagabond is independently built and maintained. Voluntary support helps cover source verification, hosting and continued work on research and conservation news.

Support Wildlife Vagabond

The news archive will remain freely available.