Ben Roberts, a resident of Canberra, Australia was getting an Alphabet’s Wing drone delivery when he filmed a momma raven attacking the drone during the delivery.
He said he had received multiple deliveries over a period of days and the first few days when the drone was hovering over his property, the raven would just fly around it, investigating it.
On one of the flights, however, the raven got a little angrier and straight out attacked the drone mid-flight. The bird grabbed the drone with its feet while it continuously tried to bite it.
Ornithologist in the area, Neil Hermes, says that it makes total sense why the raven is attacking and it’s due to having a nest nearby that has babies in it. Neil says that they get very annoyed by anything flying in the sky near their nest and will often attack it.
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Head over to our YouTube to check out the full vid: https://t.co/XJ9M3bbCqb#dronedelivery #DeliveredByWing pic.twitter.com/HSso3ctD1d— Wing (@Wing) September 17, 2021
Ravens have also been known to swoop down and attack people walking and riding on bicycles who get too close to their nests. Alphabet’s Wing said they have made thousands of deliveries but never had an incident where one of their drones hurt or injured a bird.
“To our knowledge no birds have been injured during the swooping instances, and anecdotally we’ve heard from some customers that they’ve seen the ravens swooping at a range of objects in the area, including cyclists, pedestrians, cars, and garbage trucks,” the spokesperson told ABC.
Since the attack, the spokesperson for Alphabet’s Wing said that they have suspended all drone deliveries to that area until wildlife officials confirm that the season is over and the offspring have left the nest.
“We are committed to being strong stewards of the environment,” the spokesperson added, “and we have, and continue to take advice from ornithological experts, to ensure any potential impact to birdlife is minimal.”
The drones are mainly being used to deliver things like take-out food, groceries, and medicines in the city. The city says that the demand for them have gone up since lockdowns and the pandemic started.