One Smart Bird (the following is an excerpt from my upcoming book, The Man Who Saved the Whooping Crane: The Robert Porter Allen Story.
It could have been abandonment issues, an aggressive gene,
or a loose screw, but when number 10-08 from Operation Migration's Class of 2008 pecked away at his shell and entered
the world, he was a force to be reckoned with. His parents were from the
2003-generation nesting for the first time at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin. In their inexperience,
they abandoned the nest. Their two eggs were collected and transported to the
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. Number 10-08 and his sister 11-08 were
incubated and added to the ultralight cohort. When 11-08 was shipped to Necedah
NWR, printed on the side of his box were the words, GOOD LUCK. The team
isolated him for a couple of days to observe his behavior. Feeling that he’d
adjusted to his new home after a few days, they introduced him to the members
of his cohort. Within three hours, he had fatally injured one crane and
seriously injured two others (one was his sister 11-08). Number 11-08
experienced mental and physical stress, resulting in her feathers developing
improperly. Sadly, she had to be removed from training and was sent to the
Milwaukee Zoo. The other injured crane was removed as well.
Number 10-08 was isolated again and then placed in Cohort One with the
older chicks whom the team hoped would keep 10-08 in line. The strategy worked
until it was time to combine Cohorts One and Two. The aggressive crane wasted
no time in grabbing the beak of number 13-08 through a chain-link fence. The
younger bird was rescued before any serious injury resulted. The next morning,
10-08 attacked several other youngsters from Cohort Two. He was again placed in
confinement.
The WCEP team held a conference to decide what to do with the rebel
crane. He was too genetically valuable to remove from the flock, but too
aggressive to continue to train with the other chicks. The Class of 2008 had
already dwindled to fourteen and could not afford another loss. Ten days before
the scheduled migration, the WCEP team decided to release the five-month-old
chick on the Necedah NWR, hoping he would take up with older cranes and follow
them south.
On the evening of October 22, number 10-08 was given his
freedom. His flock mates had left on their maiden voyage five days earlier. The
training crew left a pumpkin as a goodbye treat, gave the bird a pat on the
back, and walked away. A few days later, as if knowing exactly what he was
doing, he had taken up with two older cranes, numbers 18-3 and 13-3, who just
happened to be his natural parents.
Number 10-08's photo is from OM's website:
It could have been abandonment issues, an aggressive gene,
or a loose screw, but when number 10-08 from Operation Migration's Class of 2008 pecked away at his shell and entered
the world, he was a force to be reckoned with. His parents were from the
2003-generation nesting for the first time at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin. In their inexperience,
they abandoned the nest. Their two eggs were collected and transported to the
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. Number 10-08 and his sister 11-08 were
incubated and added to the ultralight cohort. When 11-08 was shipped to Necedah
NWR, printed on the side of his box were the words, GOOD LUCK. The team
isolated him for a couple of days to observe his behavior. Feeling that he’d
adjusted to his new home after a few days, they introduced him to the members
of his cohort. Within three hours, he had fatally injured one crane and
seriously injured two others (one was his sister 11-08). Number 11-08
experienced mental and physical stress, resulting in her feathers developing
improperly. Sadly, she had to be removed from training and was sent to the
Milwaukee Zoo. The other injured crane was removed as well.