Yesterday, a rare whooping crane got lost from her group and ended up in a neighborhood in Wilmette. Thankfully, a group that cared for her since she was young managed to catch her a few hours later.
This crane, called Animal, grew up in Wisconsin alongside others named after characters from the Muppets. Anne Lacy, from the International Crane Foundation, explains that this bird, also known as 16-23, is part of a project to reintroduce cranes into the wild. She got separated from her flock while migrating north.
A team traveled for three hours from Baraboo to Wilmette to rescue her. Surprisingly, she didn’t fly away. Volunteers from the Chicago Ornithological Society lent a hand.
Lacy mentioned that one of her team members dressed up as a crane to catch her. “16-23 recognized the costume, so when Hillary Thompson wore it and approached her gently, she wasn’t scared.”
By nightfall, the crane was safely back in a marsh in Wisconsin, where she feels at home.
