Don't Mess with Baby

Just one of the many local sandhill cranes

I love this time of year because our local sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) are out and about with their chicks.  They are teaching their new hatchlings the ropes of getting around the neighborhood, such as what bugs to eat and even how to watch out for traffic when crossing the road.  The traffic part is probably most important since a large number of them live in central Florida all year, where traffic is only becoming more and more congested.  So these smart birds teach their young to pay attention to the cars on the road.  But like any parent encounters, their youngsters sometimes want to try new things on their own, and the mommy and daddy birds can only try their best to make new discoveries safe for their children.

Last weekend, our family was going out for some family fun.  My husband was driving, I was in the front passenger seat, and my daughter was in her seat in the back.  We saw a family of three sandhill cranes ahead of us right next to the road.  This always excites me as I point them out to my daughter who loves seeing them.  The adult birds are easy to spot since they can stand anywhere between three to six feet tall with a wingspan of at least six feet long.  So we slowed the car to a crawl.  

Unfortunately, slowing down allowed the baby and one parent to step into the road and block our path completely.  Not only that, while the chick haphazardly meandered in the road with no recognition of danger from cars, the adult looked straight at us with threatening eyes.  Then it walked aggressively toward the front of our vehicle.  I presume that since we didn’t back off and go the other direction (there was a line of cars behind us so we couldn’t) the adult proceeded to demonstrate its bravery and willingness to protect its young at all costs by taking on our vehicle with a few pecks to the front bumper.  When that still didn’t get us to move away, the crane continued to walk around our vehicle and pounded on the front passenger door where I was sitting.  

I looked at this animal with mixed emotions.  I was worried about the damage it was doing to the car for one thing.  But at the same time, from one parent to another, I would do the same to protect my child.  I gave the bird a smile as my husband slowly drove around the crane family.  With a few more bangs to the rear of our car, my daughter, hearing the bird's knocks and sensing our concerns as we drove around the sandhill cranes, asked what happened.  I told her the bird was being a good parent!  Mommies and Daddies protect their babies from anything.  Always!

It was a great introductory teaching moment as to why we need to be cautious around animals.  With a little bit older children, I used to teach them that animals generally have a reason if they bite, sting, pinch, scratch, etc.  Usually it’s because they are in fear for their lives.  Animals don’t know what a person’s intentions are, and people are bigger and stronger than most animals, which alone can be very frightening.  Another reason for animal attacks, especially at this time of year, is due to parents protecting their young.  That’s why you may have heard the phrase, “Don’t mess with baby bear.”  In this case, we were shown not to mess with baby sandhill crane either.

Luckily, there was no damage to our vehicle, but it was a great reminder to give these animals their space.  And they show no fear when it comes to protecting their babies!  Please watch out for wildlife during your daily travels, especially at this time of year.  After all, animal babies can’t take the hand of their mommy or daddy to cross the street like our babies do!