Editing Common raven (section)

=== Conservation and management ===
[[File:Image-Pied Raven Hvidbroget ravn.jpg|thumb|right|Specimen of the extinct [[pied raven]], a [[colour morph]] from the [[Faroe Islands]]]]
Compared to many smaller ''[[Corvus]]'' species (such as [[carrion crow]] and [[American crow]]), ravens prefer undisturbed mountain or forest habitat or rural areas over urban areas.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/wb/v33n03/p0202-p0217.pdf |title=Abundance and distribution of the common raven and American Crow in the San Francisco Bay area, California |author=Kelly, J. P. |author2=Etienne, K. L. |author3=Roth, J. E. |name-list-style=amp |year=2002 |journal=Western Birds |volume=33 |pages=202–217}}</ref> In other areas, their numbers have increased dramatically and they have become agricultural [[Pest (organism)|pests]]. Common ravens can cause damage to crops, such as nuts and grain, or can harm livestock, particularly by killing young goat kids, lambs and calves.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Larsen |first=Kenneth H. |author2=Dietrich, John H.  |date=January 1970 |title=Reduction of a raven population on lambing grounds with DRC-1339 |journal=Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=200–204 |doi=10.2307/3799509 |jstor=3799509}}</ref> Ravens generally attack the faces of young livestock, but the more common raven behaviour of scavenging may be misidentified as predation by ranchers.<ref name="nass">{{Cite book| date =May 6, 2005 | title =Sheep and Goats Death Loss | publisher =[[National Agricultural Statistics Service]] | url =http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/viewDocumentInfo.do?documentID=1628 | access-date = 2007-12-27}}</ref>

In the western [[Mojave Desert]], human settlement and land development have led to an estimated 16-fold increase in the common raven population over 25 years. Towns, landfills, sewage treatment plants and artificial ponds create sources of food and water for scavenging birds. Ravens also find nesting sites in utility poles and ornamental trees, and are attracted to roadkill on highways. The explosion in the common raven population in the Mojave has raised concerns for the [[desert tortoise]], a [[threatened species]]. Common ravens prey upon juvenile tortoises, which have soft shells and move slowly.<ref name=mojave>{{cite web|url=http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=160|title=Scientists Estimate Risk of Raven Predation on Desert Tortoises in the Western Mojave Desert|access-date=2007-05-11|author=U.S. Geological Survey}}</ref> Plans to control the population have included shooting and trapping birds, as well as contacting landfill operators to ask that they reduce the amount of exposed garbage.<ref>{{cite conference | first = WI | last = Boarman | title = The Raven Management Program of the Bureau of Land Management : Status as of 1992 | pages = 113–117 | work = Proceedings of 1992 Symposium | year = 1993 | location = California | url = http://www.werc.usgs.gov/sandiego/pdfs/Boarman_1993_DTCS_RavenManagementProgram.pdf | access-date = 2007-05-21 | archive-date = 2020-10-06 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201006163812/https://www.usgs.gov/centers/werc// | url-status = dead }}</ref> A hunting bounty as a method of control was historically used in Finland from the mid-18th century until 1923.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Pohja-Mykrä M|author2= Vuorisalo T|author3= Mykrä S | title = Hunting bounties as a key measure of historical wildlife management and game conservation: Finnish bounty schemes 1647–1975 | journal = Oryx | volume = 39 | issue = 3 | pages = 284–291 | year = 2005 | doi = 10.1017/S0030605305000785| doi-access = free }}</ref> Culling has taken place to a limited extent in [[Alaska]], where the population increase in common ravens is threatening the vulnerable [[Steller's eider]] (''Polysticta stelleri'').<ref name="MMS2007">{{cite web|title=Foraging Ecology of Common Ravens (''Corvus corax'') on Alaska's Coastal Plain (AK-93-48-51) |author=Minerals Management Service, Alaska |year=2007 |url=http://www.mms.gov/alaska/ess/ongoing_studies/biology/Gleason%20-%207B.pdf |access-date=2007-05-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070628042829/http://www.mms.gov/alaska/ess/ongoing_studies/biology/Gleason%20-%207B.pdf |archive-date=June 28, 2007 }}</ref>

Ravens, like other corvids, are definitive hosts of West Nile Virus (WNV).<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lavelle|first1=Michael J.|last2=Kay|first2=Shannon L.|last3=Pepin|first3=Kim M.|last4=Grear|first4=Daniel A.|last5=Campa|first5=Henry|last6=VerCauteren|first6=Kurt C.|date=2016-12-01|title=Evaluating wildlife-cattle contact rates to improve the understanding of dynamics of bovine tuberculosis transmission in Michigan, USA|journal=Preventive Veterinary Medicine|language=en|volume=135|pages=28–36|doi=10.1016/j.prevetmed.2016.10.009|pmid=27931926|issn=0167-5877|doi-access=free}}</ref> The transmission can be from infected birds to humans via ''[[Culex]]'' mosquito vectors, and ravens are susceptible to WNV. However, in a 2010 study, it was shown that the California Common Ravens did not have a high positivity rate of WNV.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Wheeler|first1=Sarah S.|last2=Barker|first2=Christopher M.|last3=Fang|first3=Ying|last4=Armijos|first4=M. Veronica|last5=Carroll|first5=Brian D.|last6=Husted|first6=Stan|last7=Johnson|first7=Wesley O.|last8=Reisen|first8=William K.|title=Differential Impact of West Nile Virus on California Birds|date=2009|journal=The Condor|volume=111|issue=1|pages=1–20|doi=10.1525/cond.2009.080013|issn=0010-5422|pmc=2892874|pmid=20589226}}</ref>