Fearing that the "guard of the tower" would leave to find food elsewhere
"Lord of the Crows" does the impossible so that the "curse of Britain's demise" is not fulfilled.
The closure put Chris Skife in front of an unprecedented challenge.
A.F.B.
Eight crows live in the tower, according to a royal decree issued in the 17th century.
A.F.B.
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Chris Skeife holds one of Britain's most important jobs as he is "the master of crows" in the Tower of London .. But the "Covid-19" pandemic prevented the flow of tourists to the place, which posed a challenge to this man, represented in the entertainment of the famous birds that suddenly found themselves alone without anyone to play with or Steal food from her.
According to the legend passed down through the generations in Britain, if all the crows leave the tower, the UK will collapse and the country will plunge into chaos, so Chris does the impossible so that these crows do not go away and the "curse of Britain's demise" is realized.
However, the restrictions imposed by the new Corona virus led to the closure of tourist attractions in all parts of the country, including the Royal Tower, which was built 1,000 years ago on the banks of the Thames.
This left Skive in front of an unprecedented challenge, which is to entertain these birds, who are used to the presence of tourists and to pick up some delicious meals from them.
It also raised concerns that the birds, known as "zodiac keepers", might fly away in an attempt to find food elsewhere and, worse yet, have the myth fulfilled as the crows leave.
Royal Decree
Eight crows live in the tower: "Merlina", "Bobby", "Irene", "Jubilee", "Rocky", "Harris", "Gharib" and "George".
A royal decree, said to have been issued in the 17th century, stipulated that there should be six crows at the same time, but Skife said he was keeping an additional two "in case of any emergency."
She is free to roam around.
To prevent it from flying away, it trimmed its wings a little.
Last March, as lockdown measures began, Skife - a 50-year-old sergeant and former member of a military band in the Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment - was given temporary leave from work.
But he kept coming to the place to take care of the royal birds and feed them with three of his assistants.
"During that time, the crows didn't see anyone," he said, adding, "I made some minor changes."
For example, I had to keep her busy with no tourists, so there was less to do. ”
He explained, "So I gave her toys that would help her enjoy her day."
With no people around, he put balloons, ladders and even mirrors in her cages for her entertainment, and hid food in the grounds around the tower for her to find.
During breakfast, Skife, in uniform, distributes meals consisting of chicks and mice that are eaten by crows.
And "Merlena" is Skive's favorite crow, and he has become a star on social media, especially "Twitter" and "Instagram", where he has more than 120,000 followers, through the videos he publishes.
Once the feeding time is over, the Skives open the cages to allow the birds to extend their wings.
In cages
Birds currently stay in the cages for an extra time, to ensure that they eat enough food, as there are no longer a large number of trash cans in the tower due to the low number of visitors.
"I do not like to do this, and crows may be confined in cages, but the tower is their true home," Skife said.
He added, "Therefore, I do not want to keep a crow in a closed place."
Now that life is returning to normal, the crows are starting to acclimatize again with the presence of tourists around.
Skife has taken care of crows over the past 14 years out of an apparent affection, but also out of a sense of historical and national duty.
He concluded, "Of course, we do not want the legend to materialize."
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