Forget those tiny green pigs; this is how birds become enraged.
These two Eurasian cranes demonstrate their readiness for release into the wild next month by performing their own version of the Chinese martial art Wing Chun.
One of the monsters rears its head and wings and throws a superb kick at the other from mid-air, rivaling Bruce Lee’s kung-fu abilities. Keepers claim the two juveniles were merely showing off in front of each other at the Great Crane Project at Crane School in Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, run by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT).
They will be released onto the Somerset Moors and Levels next month.
Human caregivers disguise themselves to prevent the cranes from becoming domesticated and teach them how to feed and avoid dan.ger. ‘We are surrogate parents to the birds and try to teach them everything they need to thrive, but other things they just pick up on their own,’ said WWT aviculturist Amy King.
‘As many juvenile animals do, the young cranes are dueling here. It appears dramatic, but it is only practiced for now.
‘Once in the wild, they’ll utilize these talents to figure out where they fit in the pecking order and, if necessary, to fight off possible predators.’ “It’ll be lovely to bring this year’s juveniles down here to join the other cranes,” said Damon Bridge, RSPB Great Crane Project Manager.
‘They’ll soon learn the ropes with the aid of the more streetwise older birds, and there’s enough wild food for them to get got into thanks to the backing of our local farmers.’
Cranes were historically a common and culturally significant component of British fauna, and several settlements, like Cranford in Middlesex and Cranmore in Somerset, were named after the birds.
However, 400 years ago, they had become ex.ti.nct as a breeding bird due to wetlands draining and overhunting.
The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, the RSPB, and Pensthorpe Conservation Trust collaborate on the Great Crane Project.
Viridor Credits Environmental Company, which is returning birds to the Somerset Moors and Levels, has provided significant money.
