Photo: Chris Crowe/Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute.
The endangered white-naped crane is difficult to breed in captivity. But then a zoo keeper in Virginia bonded with one.
This year marked the death of a white-naped crane called Walnut, a bird unusual not only for her rarity but for her predilections. Let’s go back a few years and learn why she was unusual.
At the Washington Post in 2018, Sadie Dingfelder wrote about the crane that fell for a human.
“Early one summer morning, as rain is misting the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, a middle-aged man is courting a crane. Chris Crowe, 42, bends forward in a slight bow and then flaps his arms slowly, like wings. ‘Hey, girl, whatcha think,’ he coos.
“Walnut has heard that line before. The stately bird ignores Crowe, reshuffles her storm-cloud-gray wings, and snakes her head gracefully to the ground, looking for something tasty to eat.
“ ‘Come on, now,’ Crowe says. The zookeeper grabs a fistful of grass and tosses it into the air. This is Crowe’s sexiest move — a sly reference to building a nest together. Walnut looks up, curiosity glinting in her marigold eyes, but then she returns to probing the soft, wet ground with her bark-colored bill. She’s simply not feeling romantic. …
” ‘Try getting in the van,’ Crowe calls to me. I follow his suggestion, and, almost immediately, Walnut starts responding to Crowe’s overtures. She returns his bows and then turns away from him and holds her wings loosely away from her body. Kneeling behind the bird, Crowe rests a hand gently on her back. …
“This strange cross-species seduction has helped ensure that white-naped cranes continue to exist, at least in captivity, says Warren Lynch, a fellow zookeeper at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.
‘It’s amazing, what Chris has accomplished with Walnut,’ Lynch says. ‘This isn’t something just anyone can do.’
“When Walnut arrived at the Front Royal, Va., endangered species breeding center, back in 2004, she was the most genetically valuable white-naped crane in captivity. At 23, she had yet to produce a single chick. … Walnut hatched on July 2, 1981, in an old horse barn in Baraboo, Wis. … Volunteers named her, somewhat randomly, after their favorite dessert at a nearby diner, a walnut cream pie.
“The foundation was in full-tilt crane-making mode, trying to churn out as many of the rare animals as possible, recalls former ICF ornithologist Michael Putnam. When a pair of cranes produced eggs, staff would put the eggs in an incubator, which would prompt the pair to make more.
“Walnut’s parents [were] captured illegally in China and smuggled to Hong Kong. … They were intercepted by local authorities and eventually shipped to the [International Crane Foundation].
“Though it would have been better to return the birds to the wild, international tensions in 1978 made that impossible, Putnam recalls. Plus, no one knew exactly where in China they had been captured, or what the birds might have been exposed to during transit. ‘We didn’t want to release birds that might carry diseases and put them back into the wild flock,’ Putnam says.
“This kind of poaching is less common today, but the white-naped crane population is falling fast because of a more relentless foe: booming human populations, which are overtaking, polluting or draining the wetlands that the birds need to survive. ‘One pair of cranes, to breed, usually requires huge wetland areas,’ Archibald says. ‘It may be several acres, it may be several hundred acres.’
“In addition to demanding vast areas of untrammeled wilderness, these difficult birds seem almost drawn to marginal places. For instance, one of the white-naped cranes’ most important wintering grounds is the 2.5-mile-wide demilitarized zone that separates North and South Korea. There, in a strange, de facto nature preserve, white-naped cranes and their even-more endangered cousins, red-crowned cranes, root for tubers among the land mines they are too light to trigger. If tensions between the Koreas subside, however, the cranes will be in trouble. Farmers are already clamoring for access to the nutrient-rich land, and developers are planning for a reunification city and deepwater port.”
The long and fascinating article at the Post is here, but paywalled. So check out Walnut’s history at the Guardian obit, here.
It reads in part, “Walnut, a white-naped crane and internet celebrity, has died at the age of 42. She is survived by eight chicks, the loving staff at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, and by Chris Crowe – a human zookeeper whom Walnut regarded as her proxy mate for nearly 20 years. …
“Walnut was hand-raised by people and bonded with her human caretakers. That preference continued when she came to the institute – she showed no interest in breeding and even attacked male crane suitors. … As the offspring of two wild-caught cranes, Walnut’s genes were not represented in US zoos. So convincing Walnut to breed was regarded as a priority.
“Crowe, according to a zoo statement, won her over by ‘observing and mimicking’ the institute’s male white-naped cranes’ actions during breeding season. … Once Crowe had gained her trust, he was able to artificially inseminate her using sperm from a male crane.
“The unique arrangement was very successful and Walnut laid fertilized eggs that eventually hatched eight chicks. The fertilized eggs were given to other white-napped crane pairs who tended to them as their own. …
“Earlier this month, keepers noticed that Walnut wasn’t eating or drinking, even her favorite treats, frozen-thawed mice, peanuts and mealworms, couldn’t spark her appetite. The bird declined and, surrounded by an animal care team, died peacefully, an autopsy revealing the cause of death to be renal failure. …
“Crowe said, ‘Walnut’s extraordinary story has helped bring attention to her vulnerable species’ plight. I hope everyone who was touched by her story understands that her species’ survival depends on our ability and desire to protect wetland habitats.’ ”
Makes me think of the book Birdy — only the guy really thought he was a bird. Remember that?
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