Helping Kito Feel at Home

Photo: Kito and his former mate Periwinkle in their exhibit near one of their mural friends.

Blue Crane, Kito, known and loved by visitors to the Crane Discovery Center for many years, is receiving extra attention as we work to help him feel more comfortable in his indoor enclosure. It is important that our cranes feel comfortable in their indoor spaces, as they often hold their food and water, and are a safe place from weather conditions. It is also a space where the aviculturists in the Crane Conservation Department and the veterinary staff in Conservation Management can better manage any cranes that require medical attention. For this reason, our birds may need to be secured in their indoor spaces. As much as we attempt to take a hands-off approach to addressing medical concerns, sometimes handling our cranes is necessary, although it can be stressful for some birds, including Kito. In addition, Kito is hyper-aware of external noise while inside, which can cause added anxiety for him.

To enhance Kito’s well-being and alleviate stress, we’ve been implementing a behavioral modification plan to help him feel more comfortable in his enclosure. Changes to his environment within the house have encouraged him to utilize this space more and feel at ease coming inside. One management adjustment we made for Kito was influenced by his reaction to Jay Jocham’s mural painted on the Blue Crane habitat in 2009. Kito and his former mate Periwinkle, who resided in this habitat at the time, showed a fondness for the Blue Cranes in the mural, often dancing and hanging out near their mural friends. Our team used these observations to create Kito his own “mural friend” to place inside his house. Almost immediately, we observed that Kito, who is currently single, began to choose to spend time next to his indoor mural friend and was starting to feel more comfortable inside.

A challenge remained: Kito felt increasingly nervous when the doors were closed. While we worked to slowly build his confidence, we still needed to manage him in a way that was less stressful for him yet allowed us to continue husbandry work and ensure his safety. Kito’s reactions to our daily husbandry work outside were strong when he was locked in, as he couldn’t see the activities, causing him to fly up to the ceiling and sometimes hurt himself. We improvised a padded ceiling to protect him in case he was spooked by external noise. This would ensure that Kito would have less handling time due to medical reasons and reduce negative feelings about the aviculturists while we built trust with him.

Kito’s progression was evident when he had to stay inside overnight due to extremely low temperatures this winter. Based on video observations, Kito has been able to forage, preen, and sleep comfortably, and has even been caught dancing while inside—see above video, which are signs of comfort and happiness. 

With the padded ceiling providing security, we continued to build his confidence inside by moving him in and closing the doors for short intervals. As his courage grew, we installed and utilized a white noise speaker to help drown out some of the external noises that tend to scare him, while also slowly introducing some disturbances that are likely to occur when he is inside. For example, while inside, we walked and talked next to his house, drove a vehicle nearby, and opened the windows and doors to desensitize him to the aviculturist’s presence. Gaining trust from Kito has been very rewarding, and we hope that with continued work, he will become a confident bird and feel assured to explore every area of his habitat.

Story by Kyla Wiatrok, Aviculture Apprentice