Crows ecosystem in Tokyo
A while ago I ranted about how annoying it is to have so many crows in Tokyo. Latest data shows that there are between 40.000 and 50.000 crows living in Tokyo, they are noisy in the morning, they move rubble around and sometimes they even attack people (It happened to me more than once). But this time I’m going to give them a little bit of support, I’m starting to like them… a little 
One of the biggest advantages of having so many crows is that they like to eat rats. Yes, in Tokyo there are rats but there are not as many as in other big cities because crows are eating them all the time. After many years in Tokyo I have only seen three rats on the streets, whereas in other big cities outside of Japan I remember seeing more than three rats in one night. The last rat I saw was being eaten by these two cool fellas:
I tried to approach to take a closer picture but it seems they did not like the idea of me joining their banquet.
Another big benefit of crows is that with a little bit of imagination we, humans, can use them! Some ideas about how we could use them as our “slaves” and at the same time keep them happy are explained by Joshua Klein:
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Comments
Lexer
18 March, 2009
The crows are feasting on a rat’s corpse on top of someones fence.
That’s kinda creepy.
kirai
18 March, 2009
yes, it is!
Neil Duckett
18 March, 2009
Every morning i walk down a narrow road that has maybe 10 to 15 crows all going through the rubbish left out from the restaurants the night before …. i hate everything about them. I guess the control of rats is a good thing … will keep an eye out for rats from now on too!
p
19 March, 2009
Thanks for the translate ; )
Jamaipanese
19 March, 2009
wow, when their numbers get big enough we better not piss them off
Michael Flux
19 March, 2009
Hmm, when I was in Nagoya didn’t see much crows at all. A few flocks here & there, but for the most part, pretty quiet in that regard…
Mark
20 March, 2009
Crows? Someone say crows? You can use my little plastic sign to repel the crows. Because crows are smart.
Pho
20 March, 2009
There’s nothing wrong with crows…
If you don’t want them to spread out the garbage, then use a frickin’ bin.
Mabel
13 April, 2009
Are these crows there all time and day or it is just recently? If this is just recently, does it actually related to the upcoming earthquake in Japan?