Raising the Next Generation of Whooping Cranes at the International Crane Foundation
A costumed aviculturists uses a Whooping Crane hand puppet to feed a growing chick in the isolation facility at our headquarters. All photos and video by Ryan Michalesko/International Crane Foundation
The Aviculture team has had a busy past few weeks with the hatching of 12 Whooping Crane chicks at our headquarters! Three of these chicks are currently being reared by adults in our breeding facility, Crane City, while the other eight are being costume reared by our aviculture staff. This year’s chick name theme is Dinosaurs. This is a fun way for all of our staff to submit name suggestions, which are then voted on as chicks hatch. And we discovered there are a lot of “The Land Before Time” fans on our staff! Some of our chicks will remain under human care to become future breeders for the managed population, while the others will be released later this fall in Wisconsin to support the Eastern Migratory Population.
Get to know our little dinosaurs:
Arlo, (Apatosaurus, character from “The Good Dinosaur”) hatched 19 May and is being costume reared. Arlo is great at following the costume into the ponds and foraging along the edges.
Bambi, (short for Bambiraptor) hatched 22 May, is being costume reared. Bambi has adjusted well to having access to its entire run, moving freely between inside and outside. Bambi takes a little more coaxing to get into the pond at times but follows well and once in the pond seems to enjoy it.
Petrie, (Pterodactyl, a flying reptile and character from “The Land Before Time”) hatched 26 May, costume reared—watch a video of their hatch below. Is growing like a weed. This chick seems to be very excited and content to be hanging out with the costumes or brood model. Petrie also loves to swim!
Ducky, (Saurolophus, character from “The Land Before Time”) hatched 27 May and is being costume reared. Ducky is super interested in his neighbor, Petrie, and doesn’t pay as much attention to the costume when Petrie is in view. We’ve needed to give visual barriers between the two so Ducky can concentrate on growing!
Iggy (short for Iguanodon) hatched 28 May and is being costume reared. Iggy is eating well and not too concerned about the new kids on the block at this time. Iggy loves his brood model and is often snuggled under its wings or tail when the costume enters for feedings or exercise time.
Blik (short for Blikanasaurus) hatched 30 May and is being foster parent reared by Whooping Crane adults Slash/Anzac. This chick has been ready to go from hatch. We’ve seen it along the pond’s edge and all around the yard following its parents. This family has a larger pond with an island in the middle. The chick has grown enough that it can climb up the sides of the island and hang out there. We’ve recently seen the family spending the night on the island which is a very secure sleeping space.
Senior Aviculturist and Chick Rearing Specialist Marianne Wellington and Conservation Medicine Director Dr. Diana Boone conduct a health exam on one of the parent-reared chicks.
Sinclair (last name of the dinosaur family in TV show “The Dinosaurs” and the name of the Sinclair gas station dinosaur mascot) was collected as an egg from the Eastern Migratory Population, Sinclair hatched 2 June and is being costume reared. Sinclair had a little slower start but has turned the corner on eating and interacting with the puppet and surroundings. They are very attentive to the puppet head, coming up to the food bowl and eating beside it. The chick is very interested in the activity next door, but so far isn’t so distracted that we need to give him privacy.
Bronty (short for Brontosaurus) hatched 2 June under parent’s Sage/Jet (their chick). This is the first chick Jet and Sage have raised together. Both adults have experience raising chicks with other partners and they seem to be working things out well. Bronty required a little extra attention after hatching as its umbilicus area had some irritation but is doing great now under its parent’s care.
Diplo (short for Diplodocus) hatched 2 June from an egg collected from an Eastern Migratory Population pair. This chick is being raised by Mudd and Alberta, a newer pair for us. This year was the first time Alberta has produced an egg since she came to the International Crane Foundation in 2022, but her eggs were infertile. The parents are naturals and have been doing an excellent job stomping down the vegetation to scare up insects they can feed the chick. This also helps the chick move around the pen easier.
Trixie (named after the Triceratops in the movie “Toy Story”) hatched 3 June, costume reared. Trixie has had a slow start with ups and downs in eating. She seems to be particular about the way the puppet provides food and doesn’t adapt as well to the changing of the puppet feeders. With the good weather, we have been able to take her outside, which has helped with her appetite. She likes hanging out in the overflow and pays attention to the adult role model, Herfy.
13-443 (not yet named) hatched on 7 June and is being costume reared. This chick is still learning to eat from the puppet, which holds a red spoon with moistened chick crumbles in its beak. The spoon gives the chick a larger target to bite at and helps its success getting bites of food. Adding water to the crumbles is a way to help the chick stay hydrated and keeps the food from all falling off the spoon when the chick pecks at it. We have no doubt 13-443 will master feeding in another day or two.
Story submitted by the International Crane Foundation Crane Conservation Department team.
June 12, 2025
