[benkahuna]

I saw that python one too. What a silly python!

As for a species learning a behavior, I'm not suggesting that. I'm saying once you achieve a certain type of brain structure (a cortex), an individual animal can learn or otherwise develop unique behaviors. In the case of the ravens, I'd say they individually learned that by working together, they could take down a sheep (I recall the number of them attacking sheep as 19). A motor cortex even allows unique style of movement or movements.

The ravens were very short on food. If other ravens saw the behavior, I'd bet they could learn from it though as ravens are known to be very good at learning. I just looked up the animal group name and found a group of ravens isn't also called a murder. Some missed irony there. The group is also called an unkindness. I guess that fits. :P

I'm sort of fascinated by ravens. You can be in the middle of nowhere in an inhospitable climate where there seems to be very limited food (even from travelers, garbage from a lone business or a tourist spot) and there will be some raven just hanging out like it makes sense.

All these incidents were definitely isolated.

When I was in Thailand, any tiger that killed humans was always hunted down and killed. The main justification was that most humans tended to be very easy hunting and the tigress would teach her cubs to hunt humans too once she got her first kill.

Another one I've found interesting is the stories about drunken rampaging elephants in Asia. Once they got their first drink, they tended to get very aggressive, destructive and seek out more booze. Mean drunks, those elephants...