WHOOPING CRANE CHICK: DAY 04 |
Photo by Damien Ossi,
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Our chick is gaining weight! He's 133 grams, from a low of 114. But there's more to his development than health. Baby birds imprint on their parents so that when they're adults, they will mate with their own kind. So, we'll put an adult whooping crane in the pen next to our chick. The lower left picture shows an adult whooper interacting with a chick. The chicks watch these adults, imprint on them, and imitate them. The adults are interested in the chicks, make brood sounds to them, and often try to defend them from the staff. We have even seen the adult whoopers feed chicks through the fence. The red glow on the chick is from a heat lamp overhead. You can tell he's enjoying the warmth because his wings are relaxed. Check on our chick tomorrow! |
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Cool Facts:
See this page for more
cool facts each day. |
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Click
here to ask questions about our chick or Patuxent's crane program. Patuxent
("Tux" for short) - for the name of our Research Center *This contest was run in May, 2000. If you follow the progress of the chick you will find out the results. |
Hatch Day (Click on numbered links to view other egg (negative numbers) and chick days).
To check on updates after day 14, go to whooper's
home.
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Whooping
crane parents have strong protective instincts, but most non-breeding cranes
would only be interested in a chick as prey. While some whoopers are like that,
most have strong parenting instincts, even when they're not breeding. Whoopers
in the crane chick building (CCB) often act like parents to the chicks next
door, purring, watching them, sometimes feeding them through the fencing, and
growling and attacking the staff when we handle "their" chicks. In the
wild, unmated male whoopers have been seen helping sandhills raise their chick.
The harsh environment of Northern Canada may have sharpened their parenting
instincts.