Blog: 'What did he say?!’ – the raven who taught a generation to swear.

Animal Champions are memorable for their prowess, personalities, and...expletives? For Love Your Zoo week, Richard Bourton (Education Officer – Tilgate Nature Centre) quoths Terry the raven...

Popular culture is filled with ravens. From the omen rapping on the door in Poe’s famous poem, to Maleficent’s devious pet, to the three-eyed raven whispering prophecies in Game of Thrones. The raven’s image is one of rough and ready majesty, of marauders and forecasters of doom, or a half-forgotten memory of an old magic – conniving and eternal.

So, it takes a special raven to push past the purple prose and make a place for itself in the minds of so many people. I am writing, of course, of Terry, the raven who taught a generation to swear.

Ravens are fascinating creatures. They are hardy and resilient, and like most corvids, are highly intelligent. Their problem-solving skills and ability to recognise individuals are remarkable. None of this is particularly obvious from their exterior, especially given their similarity to crows and jackdaws, who the public rarely give much thought to. Many approaching Terry’s aviary would wonder aloud how ‘that crow got in there’.

But few could pass dismissively without pausing, as a slightly hoarse middle-aged male voice urged them to ‘come on’ and then said ‘hello’. Young and old would stop in shock and – comedically to onlooking staff – glance around for who was speaking, before slowly settling on the large, black bird in surprise. After a mischievously silent few seconds, Terry could land the perfect dressing down with a loud and proud ‘ar**’. Fits of giggles would erupt as people laughed in glee at the bird’s rudeness. Well, it served them right for not noticing him!

That might seem like the sort of surface-level interaction that couldn’t possibly lead to increased respect for nature, comparable to laughter at seeing animals defecate. But it never quite seemed that way with Terry. People took pause by his aviary. They would read his sign to confirm that it could actually be him speaking. The public reading signs? That never happens! They’d read about raven intelligence and look at Terry in awe. You knew that if they remembered little else from a visit, they would remember him.

It can be so hard to get the wider public enthused about birds. People like the idea of owls and the colours of parrots, sure, but there are ‘greater’ attractions to rush off to. Our marabou storks are such interesting animals, but you wouldn’t know that from the number of visitors at stork talks. And in an avenue of aviaries, few would choose to dwell at the simple black bird. But Terry’s speech, however ‘blue’ it could be, commanded attention. Visitors were forced to confront any pre-conceived notions they had about the bird in front of them. This bird was impressive, it was undeniable. Impolite, but impressive. If ravens like him are incredible, perhaps crows are too? Perhaps all the nature around us deserves a second look?

Terry was a mainstay at Tilgate Nature Centre for decades. He lived here longer than any staff have worked here; longer than most have been alive for! People would bring their children and grandchildren to meet Terry. They’d share stories with staff about Terry embarrassing their mother-in-law back in the 90s, or how he so enthralled their school group that they all wrote about him in their report back in the classroom. Terry the talking raven was a part of their life history. His influence went further afield too – he even had an online fan club with members in America!

Terry is no longer with us now, but he looms large in everyone’s memory. Visitors still often collar a keeper to ask to see ‘the rude raven’ and his old aviary is resolutely called ‘Terry’s aviary’ by staff, regardless of inhabitants. We had not quite anticipated how inundated with sympathies and well-wishing we would be at the announcement of his death, but so many people were keen to share their memories of him: he was something of a local celebrity!

We, as zoological collections, can do our best to shape the perception of our animals and the narratives around them. However, we all know that, ultimately, visitors will go away with their own ideas about each species and individual. Sometimes the best we can hope for is that an animal will linger in the mind of the public, and perhaps just gently alter their attitude to that species and to others like it. Excitement generates enthusiasm and, we hope, respect for nature and behaviour changes towards conservation. Perhaps someone who visited Tilgate Nature Centre later saw a crow on the street. And, maybe, they saw it anew as an intelligent creature beyond its drab exterior. That would almost certainly be thanks to Terry and his infamous potty mouth.

I suppose the same memory might come when anyone shouted an expletive at them, but we shan’t dwell on that…

- Richard Bourton, Education Officer – Tilgate Nature Centre

All blogs reflect the views of their author and are not necessarily a reflection of BIAZA's positions