Two African crowned crane chicks were recently introduced to their outdoor habitat at the Virginia Zoo and are now accepting visitors.
"They hatched in late August, but we wait until they bulk up and are less vulnerable before putting them in the outdoor habitat," said zookeeper Dennis McNamara, who works on the team that cares for the chicks. He added that the chicks still spend the night indoors, and will continue to do so until they are nearly full grown.
Named for what appears to be a crown of golden pins on their head, which are actually modified feathers, African crowned cranes are native to the savannah south of the Sahara. The birds stand just over 3 feet tall and weigh nearly 8 pounds, with the males tending to be slightly larger. They feed on insects and other invertebrates, reptiles, small mammals and seeds.
"This is a fantastic opportunity for people to observe the chicks' transformation into the striking adult birds," said Greg Bockheim, the Zoo's executive director.
On the heels of spring’s arrival, a Wattled Crane (Bugeranus carunculatus) chick hatched at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo March 20, the third of its kind in the park’s history. National Zoo veterinarians examined the chick and took a blood sample when it was 4 days old, which they will use to determine its sex. Visitors can see the chick and its parents at the Crane Run, part of the Bird House’s outdoor exhibits.
Photo credits: Mehgan Murphy, Smithsonian’s National Zoo
Nebraska's Lincoln Children’s Zoo announced the hatching of two rare birds on July 15. These East African Crowned Cranes chicks were the first babies for the two parents, mother Naivasha (Na-Vash-A) and father Nukuru (Na-KU-Roo). They arrived at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo in the spring of 2007. You can tell the couple apart because Naivasha has additional red markings on her cheeks.
Born last week and standing a mere 4 and 1/2 inches (12 cm) tall in these photos, this tiny African Crowned Crane is being hand-reared by keepers at Paradise Park in the UK. Note that the little booties are in place to speed the process of unfurling the crane's naturally curled feet, and thereby helping it learn to toddle quicker. The chick's name is easy to remember - "Little Crane."
Curator David Woolcock explains “In the past, the female parent of this chick has not done very well when she has laid a clutch of eggs inside rather than outside her hut. So when this happened again, and with this species having been recently upgraded to ‘Vulnerable’ status, we made a decision to remove the eggs and incubate them ourselves. We were delighted when one hatched. So the keepers are now full time mums with 2 hourly feeds and giving some much needed tender loving care to this little one.”
A mother West African Crowned Crane keeps a beady eye on her new charge as it takes its first steps at Chester Zoo. The little crane - which one day will grow up to look as unusual as its attentive mum - is the first to be bred in the UK.
Female cranes can have up to five chicks in one go, but mum seems perfectly content to take just one under her wing. (On an noneducational note... crane chicks look like dinosaur chickens to us)
Anita and Ivan, resident white-necked cranes at the Toledo Zoo, just gave birth to a healthy little chick. Fiercely protective of their young, the large birds can be a bit daunting to zookeepers.
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