Growing up on the west coast of Ireland, Niall spent much of his time in the mountains surrounded by nature. The raven was one of the first birds that sparked Niall’s interest in ornithology and began a life-long passion for conservation.
In Norse mythology Odin, god of war and death, has two raven spirits called Hugin (Old Norse for “thought”) and Munin (Old Norse for “thought”, “desire” and “emotion”) that fly around the world every day to gather information for him. They are thought to be visual representations of Odin’s intellect and spiritual capabilities, and because of this ravens have always been associated with wisdom and curiosity.
To this day ravens are regarded as one of the smartest animals in the world and can even imitate human speech. They are highly adaptable, living in a variety of different habitats throughout the Northern Hemisphere and eating anything they can get their claws on. Ravens can live to be up to 22 years old in the wild and are known for their ability to be able to fly upside down.