The Bird That Took a Human Mate

Walnut was a graceful, strong-willed bird, if a tad antisocial. That year, she’d spurned the affections of the males of her species, and instead bonded with Crowe, her keeper at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute. Walnut’s love for Crowe lasted 20 years, until she died last month, at the age of 42. Theirs was a strange bond, of course; it’s rare for a female crane to select a human boyfriend. But it is not without precedent. This unusual relationship could help save Walnut’s threatened species—such a thing has happened before.