![\"Raven](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/raven-wolf-2-3-20-26.jpg\")
(Danita Delemont via Alamy)\u2018The Old Guard\u2019<\/p>\nWhen wolves make a kill, ravens frequently show up to feast on the leftovers.<\/p>\n
And for decades, wildlife biologists thought it was as simple as people might assume \u2014 the ravens were following wolf packs around, waiting for them to kill an elk, bison or some other big animal.<\/p>\n
As it turns out, things are probably more complex. Ravens apparently have \u201ccognitive maps\u201d of their vast territories \u2014 sort of like GPS embedded in their brains. And those maps include likely sites for wolf kills, as well as garbage dumps, sewage lagoons and other likely dining spots.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s according to a study of ravens and wolves in the north end of Yellowstone National Park, recently published in Science.<\/p>\n
Biologist Doug Smith, who led the wolf program in Yellowstone for nearly three decades, was the lead wolf expert for the study.<\/p>\n
During his career, Smith spent countless hours tracking wolves\u2019 movements with radio collars. But the study also involved putting tiny radio transmitters on ravens\u2019 backs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had marked (radio-collared) wolves and followed wolves. But we had never followed ravens,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
(Danita Delemont via Alamy)\u2018The Old Guard\u2019<\/p>\n
Prior to being involved in the wolf-raven study, Smith assumed that the relationship between the species was simple.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m part of the old guard in the wolf world. And the old guard thinks that ravens follow wolves,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
After all, that\u2019s apparently what he\u2019d seen while studying wolves. Whether on Isle Royale in Lake Superior, then in the remote wilderness of Alaska and in Yellowstone, Smith saw the same thing happening over and again.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as the wolves make a kill, ravens are on the scene,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
And so it seemed, the ravens were just lurking behind the wolves, waiting for the pack to make a kill and ring the dinner bell.<\/p>\n
![\"Raven](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/raven-wolf-3-3-20-26.jpg\")
A Matter Of Memory<\/p>\n
But when both ravens and wolves were outfitted with tracking devices, a different picture began to emerge.<\/p>\n
The ravens were going all over the place \u2014 sometimes as far away as Billings, Montana \u2014 to hit likely feeding spots.<\/p>\n
Researchers began leaning toward the conclusion that instead of directly following the wolves, at least some of the ravens knew the territory well enough from memory that they\u2019d pegged the spots where packs were most likely to make kills. And so, those likely kill sites became just another stop on the ravens\u2019 circuits.<\/p>\n
Researchers also tracked mountain lions, although their kills are usually harder for ravens to find, Smith said.<\/p>\n
Mountain lions make kills in extremely remote areas and tend to cover the carcasses with dirt, brush and the like, whereas \u201cwolves kill out in the open,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Tracking data revealed that ravens weren\u2019t tagging along behind either big predator species, according to the study\u2019s abstract.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026 by satellite tracking 69 ravens, 20 wolves and 11 cougars in Yellowstone National Park, we found that following of predators over large distances rarely occurred. Instead, ravens routinely revisited sites where wolf kills were common \u2014 returning from distances of up to 155 kilometers (about 96 miles) to find carrion,\u201d according to the abstract.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Elk-carcass-wolf-elk-4-10.28.25_2026-03-20-234240_xbfw.jpg\")
A pack of wolves were the primary consumers of a bull elk carcass near Togwotee Pass. (Courtesy: Jake Davis)Residents And Vagrants<\/p>\n
Research indicates that there are two types of ravens \u2014 residents and \u201cvagrants,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
The residents are those that stay more or less in the same area, while the vagrants fly vast distances, checking likely spots for food.<\/p>\n
Smith noted that over the years, in relatively less remote places like the central parts of Yellowstone, mobs of ravens show up to pick at wolf-killed carcasses, sometimes 20 or more at a time.<\/p>\n
In isolated areas, like Wyoming\u2019s Thorofare, there might be only a half dozen ravens on a carcass.<\/p>\n
That could be partly due to vagrant ravens homing in on the calls of residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have a particular call that says, \u2018I\u2019ve got food,\u2019\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
In some instances, an overwhelming number of vagrants would show up and bully the residents off the carcass, he said.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Elk-carcass-wolf-elk-3-10.28.25_2026-03-20-234249_ipqa.jpg\")
A pack of wolves were the primary consumers of a bull elk carcass near Togwotee Pass. (Courtesy: Jake Davis)Human Influence?<\/p>\n
The smaller groups of ravens on carcasses in isolated places like the Thorofare also make Smith wonder about the influence of human-provided food sources.<\/p>\n
For instance, at the northern end of Yellowstone, \u201cGardiner, Montana, is right there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
And Gardiner has a garbage dump and a sewage lagoon.<\/p>\n
A thin layer of fat builds up on the surface of sewage lagoons. And, as gross as it might seem from a human perspective, that\u2019s a great source of nutrition for ravens because they can \u201cskim the fat off\u201d for a quick meal, Smith said.<\/p>\n
If ravens\u2019 cognitive maps have numerous reliable human-provided food sources in a certain area, Smith wonders how that affects their habits.<\/p>\n
In extremely isolated areas with no human influence, might they be more likely to directly follow a pack of wolves in hopes of getting a meal?<\/p>\n
That could be an open question, Smith said.<\/p>\n
\u201cScience generates more questions than answers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/raven-wolf-3-20-26-v5.jpg\")
A new study finds Yellowstone\u2019s ravens don\u2019t just follow wolves but use mental \u201cmaps\u201d to predict likely kill sites. Researchers say the birds\u2019 memory and human food sources may shape their scavenging habits. (Danita Delemont via Alamy)<\/p>\n