Speaker
Description
Kövér, László1*
1 University of Debrecen, Department of Nature Conservation Zoology and Game Management, Debrecen, Hungary
* koverl@agr.unideb.hu
DOI: 10.20315/evmc.2025.002
The family of Corvidae (crows, choughs, jackdaws, jays, magpies, nutcrackers, ravens, rooks, treepies) is one of the most widespread bird groups globally. Corvids are highly adaptable and appear in a wide range of habitats: through forests, to the mountains, across open fields, as well as in urban environments. Their exceptional intelligence and versatility allow them to survive and succeed in such diverse conditions. From a human perspective, crows could be evaluated in different ways, depending on cultural context, judgments related to agriculture, nature conservation, and wildlife management, not to mention the general human attitude. We can mention several pest species that are being controlled or reduced in various ways. But there are also some endangered species as well. For instance, the Hawaiian crow (Corvus hawaiiensis) has already gone extinct in the wild, and huge amounts of money are being spent in attempts to save it. On the contrary, we hear the most and most often about species considered problematic/conflict, especially from urban environments. Nearly a quarter of Corvidae (30 species) regularly occur in urban environments. Crows have colonized and spread across many European cities in recent decades. They are often considered pests due to their noise, litter-spilling, predation on urban bird species, and aggression toward humans and domestic animals. Consequently, the control and management of crow populations have become necessary in many cases. This is the purpose of urban wildlife management, which is aimed at managing wildlife species occurring in cities. Its tasks include conducting various types of research, resolving conflicts between humans and animals, and educating people about urban species and how to coexist with them. During the presentation, the audience will get a general overview of human-crow conflicts, primarily in urban environments, and two specific case studies (from Europe and Africa) will also be presented.
