LONDON: One of the Tower of London’s ravens, the conspiracy of birds whose fate is said to be intertwined with that of Britain, is missing, feared dead, the royal palace said on Thursday.

“We have some really unhappy news to share,” the Tower announced on its website.

“Our much-loved raven Merlina has not been seen at the Tower for several weeks, and her continued absence indicates to us that she may have sadly passed away,” it added.

According to folklore, if there are fewer than six ravens left to guard the Tower, both the kingdom and country will collapse. But Yeoman Warder Ravenmaster Chris Skaife, who looks after the birds, assured worried Britons already battered by the coronavirus pandemic and the Brexit divorce that the nation was safe — for now.

“Obviously, as the ravenmaster, my concern is looking after the kingdom,” he told BBC radio.

“But we do have seven ravens here at the Tower of London, six by royal decree and of course I still have a spare one, so we’re OK at the moment.”

The decree, purportedly issued in the 17th century, stated there must be six on site at any one time.

Skaife said in an interview in October last year he usually keeps two as “spares”, “just in case”, and that Merlina was his favourite.

Merlina, described by the Tower as the “undisputed ruler of the roost”, was last seen at the historic palace by the River Thames several weeks ago.

“Just before Christmas, before we went into the lockdown, we were putting the ravens to bed, and she didn’t come back,” said Skaife.

He described Merlina as a “free-spirited raven that has been known to leave the Tower precincts on many occasion”.

However, he added “she normally comes back to us, but this time she didn’t. So I do fear that she is not with us anymore”.

Merlina became an internet favourite from Skaife’s frequent posts and videos of her on his Instagram and Twitter accounts, which have more than 120,000 followers.

Skaife, a former staff sergeant and drum major in the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, faced an unprecedented challenge entertaining the Tower’s celebrated avian residents during the coronavirus lockdown last year.

The birds suddenly found themselves with no one to play with — or rob food from. He raised fears the birds would fly away to try to find food elsewhere.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2021

Opinion

Editorial

‘Source of terror’
29 Mar, 2024

‘Source of terror’

ALTHOUGH dealing with the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan is a major political, security and strategic...
Chipping in
29 Mar, 2024

Chipping in

FEDERAL infrastructure development schemes are located in the provinces. Most such projects — for instance,...
Toxic emitters
29 Mar, 2024

Toxic emitters

IT is concerning to note that dozens of industries have been violating environmental laws in and around Islamabad....
Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...