The raven Merlina was first noticed to be missing when all the ravens were being put to bed - several weeks aLegend says there needs to be at least six ravens in the castle, and if they leave, then both the Tower and the Kingdom will Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Ravenmaster Christopher Skaife said: "Merlina is a free-spirited raven and has been known to leave the tower precincts on many occasion. I'm her buddy and she normally comes back to us, but this time she didn't. So, I do fear that she is not with us any moreImage: Ravenmaster Chris Skaife says there are still seven ravens in residence preventing the fall of the He added: "But we do have seven ravens here at the Tower of London, six by royal decree and of course I still have a spare one, so we're OK at the Charles II is thought to have insisted on the Tower's ravens to be protected, after he was warned that the crown and the Tower itself would fall if tThe Tower of London said they didn't have any "immediate plans to fill Merlina's vacancy" but hoped that a new bird from their breeding programme would be up to the "formidable challenge of continuing her legacy"