Comments on: Of true love, AI, and dedicated zookeepers

Of true love, AI, and dedicated zookeepers

ChuraChura — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 06:16:14 -0800

Chris Crowe has a girlfriend. She stands a leggy 5 feet tall, weighs a trim 11 pounds, and sports a set of wings like you've never seen. Walnut the white-naped crane is the most genetically distinct endangered crane on the block — which means she needs to have been making babies, like, yesterday. Walnut was raised by humans at a zoo, and as a result, she recognizes and trusts humans — and is deeply hostile to other cranes. How hostile? She killed the two male cranes that her former keepers attempted to pair with her. "I like to jokingly tell people that Walnut 'allegedly' killed two male cranes," Crowe says. "It's not like she was tried and convicted. We don't know her side of the story."

By: jaguar

jaguar — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 07:48:38 -0800

That was sweet.

By: Johnny Wallflower

Johnny Wallflower — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 08:09:23 -0800

I once had an African Crowned Crane perform a mating dance for me. Told it I was flattered, but that I was married to the woman laughing hysterically.

By: dreamling

dreamling — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 08:29:43 -0800

hmm, A crow and a crane...

By: Shmuel510

Shmuel510 — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 08:41:49 -0800

Good story, good post. "I like to joke that our relationship gives me great job security, but she would eventually bond with another keeper provided they were male and took the time to court her," he says. Is there any basis for the bolded bit?

By: Eyebrows McGee

Eyebrows McGee — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 08:45:52 -0800

It must make for interesting first date conversation. "So, what do you do?" "Well, I'm a zookeeper, and my primary job is mating with a crane. She's sweet."

By: muddgirl

muddgirl — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 08:48:07 -0800

I know that Alice the Great Horned Owl became imprinted on humans and is "mated" with her female handler Karla Bloem, but it's possible they've only seen this crane respond to male contact.

By: jenjenc

jenjenc — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 09:13:12 -0800

I once had an African Crowned Crane perform a mating dance for me. Told it I was flattered, but that I was married to the woman laughing hysterically. posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:09 AM on April 11 The same thing happened to me at a fair, with a male turkey. On his card a judge had written "Nice Turkey" and when I read that aloud and added, "You really are a nice turkey!" (he really was a spectacular bird), he instantly puffed up his tail feathers and started strutting around his cage, making noises and staring at me. It was...disconcerting. My mother thought it was hilarious.

By: Sequence

Sequence — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 09:50:25 -0800

I can't speak to real science and would love to know if anyone can, but I know that people I used to know who kept parrots treated it like a well-known fact that certain parrots had strong gender preferences one way or the other. I don't know why that should be true of parrots but not of cranes.

By: maryr

maryr — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 09:52:12 -0800

That is crazy.

By: Calzephyr

Calzephyr — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 10:14:50 -0800

Hehehe Sequence, I was just going to say something about parrots...I always had budgies until I decided to adopt a third hand cockatiel. Early on he decided we were mates despite the fact that I already have a mate. We make fun of this, but every spring it's band aids and ear plugs. I always thought that larger parrots bonded so strongly, not the little guys. Right now it's breeding season and he's hopelessly at a loss as to why I don't want to build a nest under the stove.

By: jeather

jeather — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 10:45:57 -0800

Not a single bird has ever performed a mating dance for me. The closest I've ever come is cats rubbing their butts on me, which is actually not all that special feeling.

By: Johnny Wallflower

Johnny Wallflower — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 11:17:38 -0800

certain parrots had strong gender preferences one way or the other We saw this at the Butterfly Garden in Victoria, BC. One of the parrots would only interact with women. The keeper said it would hop onto a man only as a means to get to a woman.

By: corb

corb — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 11:25:17 -0800

The stuff in the Karla Bloem interview - does anyone know why they're not allowed to release into the wild without extraordinary precautions?

By: muddgirl

muddgirl — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 11:45:46 -0800

I'm not 100% sure, but I think it has to do with the wildlife permit that she qualifies for. She has a license to keep and to breed owls for research purposes, but not for the purpose of species propagation. She also doesn't have a rehabilitation license, which she briefly discusses when she talks about her research plan to have her breeding pair raise a set of foster owlets.

By: The Zeroth Law

The Zeroth Law — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 11:50:39 -0800

Hey, one of these chicks looks like you, Chris!

By: [insert clever name here]

[insert clever name here] — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 12:37:53 -0800

I don't know how birds know, but I agree they seem to have a gender awareness and preference. I would love to see some science to back it up but it's uncanny. My husband and I had a pet crow (it's a long story) and she liked me way better even though my husband was the primary care giver. It wasn't until we had "her" DNA sexed that this preference started to make sense. (He was also very bossy with me than with my husband; female crows are low on the totem pole in crow families.)

By: nat

nat — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 13:33:22 -0800

Not just birds. Once upon a time I dated a guy who live in a house with two couples, and a cat. The cat was a hunter and brought back mousey gifts for the two women quite often. Then both couples split in the same week, and the women moved out. No mouse gifts for two weeks. Until I (also female) stayed over one night-- mouse gift for me in the morning. (I got to deal with it, after all the gift was clearly for me). As for this story, well, all he ever meant to do was to keep her (species alive?)..

By: Short Attention Sp

Short Attention Sp — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 15:48:38 -0800

I was telling the owner of an African Gray, a nice, white-haired lady in her sixties, that my SO's Yellow-Naped Amazon loves him devotedly yet nips him pretty often. The lady nodded sagely and said, "Parrots are rough lovers." I changed the subject, lest details might be forthcoming.

By: jamaro

jamaro — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 18:45:06 -0800

lest details might be forthcoming

By: Short Attention Sp

Short Attention Sp — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 18:51:11 -0800

"He's a bit frisky."

By: effugas

effugas — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 23:11:13 -0800

I don't know how birds know, but I agree they seem to have a gender awareness and preference. Yes, actually, there was some discussion about this recently here.

By: tommasz

tommasz — Sun, 12 Apr 2015 06:03:59 -0800

My two chickens, um, flirt with me all the time. I always turn them down gently, of course, but that only deters them for a bit.

By: nonasuch

nonasuch — Sun, 12 Apr 2015 11:46:25 -0800

We have a cockatiel who lives at the shop where I work, and he always pays more attention to male customers-- he's much more likely to whistle and chirp at them, and tends to ignore women.