Meet Walnut: A Crane With a Crush on Her Keeper, Chris Crowe

Hand-raised by humans, white-naped crane Walnut imprinted and never bonded with other birds. Then she met caretaker Chris Crowe at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. She was smitten. He built Walnut’s trust and performed artificial inseminations using genetic material from male cranes. Their special bond has enabled Walnut to contribute 8 chicks to her endangered species’ survival to date (with a little help from Chris, of course).