The Crane Who Loved Me

Over the years of working with zoos and animals, I've had folks ask me if various animals are like my pets.  The truth is - they're not.  Working in a zoo isn't like being a massively over-stretched pet owner.  It's more like living and working in a small town, where you know everyone, but to varying degrees.  Some of your animal colleagues you're more on nodding terms with.  Some you feud with.  And a certain number of them are just very special, ones you know that you'll remember forever.

There are few things which have enchanted me about this field more than the bond that can form between keepers and animals.  And there are few bonds that I've heard of that were more special than that between Chris Crowe, keeper at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, and Walnut the white-naped crane. After 20 years, that bond was ended with the crane's passing at the (for a crane) very ripe old age of 42.

I first shared the story of Chris and Walnut almost 10 years ago, and again a few years later, when it caught national attention.  I'd heard about it long before.  It's sad to see the final chapter come to a close, but there was an extraordinary legacy to it.  Instead of being written off as a "problem" bird who just couldn't be socialized and simply tucked away somewhere, Chris Crowe invested an enormous amount of time and emotional capital into this bird and her well-being... to say nothing of her conservation potential.  In her lifetime, Walnut produced eight chicks, a valuable contribution for this rare, beautiful species.

The Crane Who Loved Me

She had a long, elegant neck and orange eyes.  He was a jeans-and-hoodie guy.  She was a white-naped crane named Walnut, who chose him as her partner.  He was Chris Crowe, her keeper at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, who tried to mimic the part. (Article continues with link)