### p9 ravens have a symbiotic relationship with large carnivorous hunters > Ravens and humans have partnered since the earliest times. As Heinrich states, "There is something unique about ravens that permits or encourages an uncanny closeness to develop with humans" (1999, 31). Those who have gained a raven's trust experience the raven as a partner or child, not as a pet. The raven may have originally been attracted to human hunters as it was to other large carnivores—wolves, coyotes, bears—because the raven's beak, which it uses with great ingenuity, has a curved tip at the end of the upper mandible that makes it impossible for the raven to pierce even the skin of a gray squirrel (Boarman and Heinrich 1999). The raven needs a carnivore with teeth, claws, or tools strong enough to open large mammals and provide the raven with meat. In return, it appears that the raven, whose aerial viewpoint allows it to see large mammals that would not be easy for the land-bound to spot, may have learned to signal animal and human hunters where to find their prey. - [[A Storytelling of Ravens by Betty Wheelwright#p9 ravens have a symbiotic relationship with large carnivorous hunters|View in Vault]]