• TragicNotCute@lemmy.worldEnglish
      106·
      2 months ago

      I found this particularly funny. It wasn’t like a funny accidental thing. Dude was trying to mate with the bird.

      In September 2004, Walnut arrived at NZCBI’s Virginia campus, where scientists regularly breed cranes that have behavioral or physical limitations by using assisted reproduction techniques, including artificial insemination. By observing and mimicking how NZCBI’s male white-naped cranes interacted with their mates during breeding season, bird keeper Chris Crowe gained Walnut’s elusive trust. He pair-bonded with her by flapping his arms in a manner similar to the species’ unison dance, offered her nesting materials and brought her food. Once she was receptive to breeding, Crowe was able to use sperm collected from a male crane to artificially inseminate Walnut without the need for physical restraint

      They had 8 chicks together.

    • ArbitraryValueEnglish
      75·
      2 months ago

      At 42 years old, Walnut was considered geriatric for her species. She far surpassed the median life expectancy for white-naped cranes in human care, which is 15 years.

      • DrownedRats@lemmy.worldEnglish
        67·
        2 months ago

        She lived almost 3 times the average life expectancy for her species!?! That’s genuinely insane! Imagine a human living to 180 years old!

        • usualsuspect191@lemmy.caEnglish
          311·
          2 months ago

          This happens quite often with animals in captivity. Nature is dangerous (and health care is important!)

            • usualsuspect191@lemmy.caEnglish
              51·
              2 months ago

              Fair point, I was just speaking generally, and that she actually lived way longer than most of her species since most aren’t in captivity

              • flicker@lemmy.worldEnglish
                4·
                2 months ago

                White napped crane life expectancy in the wild is unknown.

                So it sounds like you didn’t know that, either.

          • fristislurper@feddit.nlEnglish
            8·
            2 months ago

            Unfortunately there are many counterexamples, large animals that live long in the wild tend to have shorter lives in zoos, like elephants, hippos, and monkeys.

        • Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.eeEnglish
          51·
          2 months ago

          (Avg life expectancy of humans without tech is prob 20, but humans could live to 100+ thousands of years ago, nothing changed, we just systemically eliminated the factors in our environments that cause non-old age death (with cancer, neurological, and cardiovascular problems remaining the last lines), eg food quality, vaccines & healthcare overall, killing & sterilising every other ecosystem around us, you know, the usual)

  • Sigilos@ttrpg.networkEnglish
    301·
    2 months ago

    Can you imagine that workplace environment though?

    "Hey boss, I’m leaving for that 2 weeks paid training on how to catfish a bird my height and get it pregnant with a syringe. "

    “Don’t forget receipts for accounting.”

    This is such a wacky world, I love it.

  • Nuke_the_whales@lemmy.worldEnglish
    10·
    2 months ago

    Birds man. I have a cockatiel I rescued. She’s the sweetest, cutest, most delicate princess. But don’t you dare try to touch her, she will go full dinosaur move, except with me.

    Nobody is allowed anywhere near her except daddy. She’s glued to me and always demanding my attention and scritches, but won’t let my wife or kids touch her.

  • Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.eeEnglish
    7·
    2 months ago

    It’s a magnificent birb, some danger in the relationship is assumed.
    But they can prob bond over chicken nuggets dinner.