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The Beat with Aaron Wilson - Ravens promise to Rise & Conquer
Mascot birds look to soar over M&T Bank Stadium
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Posted On: 7/29/08
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WESTMINSTER -- The rare breed of an authentic baby raven perched on Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh's arm, peering curiously at the football players huddled around him.
Conquer, one half of the Ravens' new feathered mascot tandem along with his partner, Rise, already felt like part of the team Monday morning as the birds visited training camp at McDaniel College.
Conquer, one half of the Ravens' new feathered mascot tandem along with his partner, Rise, already felt like part of the team Monday morning as the birds visited training camp at McDaniel College.
The two African white-nape ravens are training to perform at home games this season at M&T Bank Stadium. Precocious in their development as they prepare on a 40-acre ranch in Commerce, Ga., Rise and Conquer are supposed to fly out of the stadium tunnel during pregame warmups and meet their trainer Daniel Walthers at the 50-yard line.
"We need to start out small and go from there," Walters said. "When they go flying, their minds are always going."
The birds were named through an online poll conducted by the team.
They’re eventually going to try to learn to speak, including words like "touchdown," "hello" and "Go Ravens."
"He's very aware," Walthers said as Conquer took in the scene of fans and reporters in Westminster. "He's taking all this in. We're just here to meet people."
Rise is shier than Conquer, and wasn't brought around for a meet-and-greet.
During games, they'll fly with a transmitter attached to keep track of their whereabouts.
"We're not taking any chances when you've got so much time involved,” Walthers said.
After Harbaugh introduced Conquer, wide receiver Derrick Mason took a turn holding him on his arm along with kicker Matt Stover, defensive tackle Salamon Solano, cornerback Ronnie Prude and quarterback Troy Smith.
Some players were extremely wary of the bird, including cornerback Chris McAlister.
"Keep that thing away from me," McAlister said.
Walters, who is assisted by his wife, Teresa, has worked with exotic birds for over 30 years
The birds are smart enough to obey commands and figure out puzzles, according to Walthers. One raven named Hollywood performed stunts in The Pirates of the Carribean film.
Although PETA has protested and asked the team to not use the birds, the Ravens intend to go ahead with their plans.
Walthers said he has no concerns about the four-month-old birds’ safety.
"I want to do the best things for these birds and make sure they're taken care of," he said.
Rise and Conquer join a fraternity of NFL birds following the winged path of the Seattle Seahawks and the Atlanta Falcons. The idea to use a real raven occurred to Ravens vice president of marketing Gabrielle Dow after watching a trained hawk at a Seattle game.
Preparation has gone smoothly so far for the jet-black birds who have been listening to music provided by the Ravens to get them acclimated to the noise of a packed stadium.
"They're so used to all the stimulation we've given them that this stuff is so much easier for them than normal birds," Walthers said. "They listen to rock and roll music, very loud. The clips we got from the Ravens have been very helpful.”
"He's very aware," Walthers said as Conquer took in the scene of fans and reporters in Westminster. "He's taking all this in. We're just here to meet people."
Rise is shier than Conquer, and wasn't brought around for a meet-and-greet.
During games, they'll fly with a transmitter attached to keep track of their whereabouts.
"We're not taking any chances when you've got so much time involved,” Walthers said.
After Harbaugh introduced Conquer, wide receiver Derrick Mason took a turn holding him on his arm along with kicker Matt Stover, defensive tackle Salamon Solano, cornerback Ronnie Prude and quarterback Troy Smith.
Some players were extremely wary of the bird, including cornerback Chris McAlister.
"Keep that thing away from me," McAlister said.
Walters, who is assisted by his wife, Teresa, has worked with exotic birds for over 30 years
The birds are smart enough to obey commands and figure out puzzles, according to Walthers. One raven named Hollywood performed stunts in The Pirates of the Carribean film.
Although PETA has protested and asked the team to not use the birds, the Ravens intend to go ahead with their plans.
Walthers said he has no concerns about the four-month-old birds’ safety.
"I want to do the best things for these birds and make sure they're taken care of," he said.
Rise and Conquer join a fraternity of NFL birds following the winged path of the Seattle Seahawks and the Atlanta Falcons. The idea to use a real raven occurred to Ravens vice president of marketing Gabrielle Dow after watching a trained hawk at a Seattle game.
Preparation has gone smoothly so far for the jet-black birds who have been listening to music provided by the Ravens to get them acclimated to the noise of a packed stadium.
"They're so used to all the stimulation we've given them that this stuff is so much easier for them than normal birds," Walthers said. "They listen to rock and roll music, very loud. The clips we got from the Ravens have been very helpful.”
Aaron Wilson covers the Baltimore Ravens for the Carroll County Times and the Annapolis Capital.
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Posted On: 7/29/08
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