‘Ravenman’ Peter van Gurp (68) from Breda actually always has a claim. When he walks his raven Ragnar in his neighborhood Heuvelkwartier or in the Mastbos, walkers and cyclists stop and chat with him. Ragnar watches with two curious, jet-black, beady eyes. “He likes the attention,” laughs Peter, who always has a dead mouse in his pocket just to be on the safe side.
“One loves a dog, the other a cat. I’ve loved ravens since I was twelve. Then I went to the zoo in Antwerp with my parents. Then I always walked straight to the ravens. I was already there then crazy of.”
Over the past twenty years, Peter has had several ravens. “They say that ravens are unlucky birds, but they have always brought me luck. Because I always have nice conversations with people. Also a bit educational, because I explain, for example, where the bird occurs and what it eats.”
Ravens are often associated with death. Peter: “That’s because the ravens used to clean up the corpses on the battlefields. They are literally scavengers. But he also takes rabbits, mice and rats.”
“If he wants something, Ragnar will peck my back or arm.”
Two elderly walking ladies stop at Peter and Ragnar. “I’ve never seen a raven this close,” says one of them. She takes out her mobile phone and takes some pictures. The raven willingly allows itself to be captured.
The raven man and Ragnar are clearly buddies. Peter pats the raven on the head. “I really have contact with it. If he wants something, Ragnar pecks my back or arm. Then he gets drink or food.” Peter conjures up a dead white mouse from a plastic bag. The raven says his pointed beak into the cadaver with relish.
“At the restaurant, Ragnar gets apple pie.”
Was for years the Raven a rare appearance, but now they can be seen more often in the wild again. Peter: “In the 1920s they thinned out considerably here because of the damage to hunting. But in Baarn, a special breeding program was set up in the early 1970s with ravens from the Black Forest in Germany. In very large aviaries, after which the young animals were released Also in Brabant.”
And that, according to Van Gurp, is an enrichment: “The raven belongs here. It hunts surplus animals, such as mice and rats. But it also cleans up dead animals, which prevents disease outbreaks.”
Strange but true: the raven belongs to the family of songbirds. But a great singing career is not really spent on Ragnar. On the tree trunk it doesn’t get much further than a raw, rolling ‘kroa-kroa’. Then he looks around with his head tilted to see what his audience thinks.
After all the chats with walkers and cyclists, Peter thinks it’s been good. He cycles with Ragnar to the Markdal. “Then we’ll have something to eat at the restaurant here in the middle of the forest. Ragnar gets apple pie there.” And that is something different than another dead mouse.
