After four adventurous years together, Percy and Lenore, Ohio Wildlife Center’s crow ambassadors, have gained a new partner to help them greet visitors to the Education Center. Their time as a duo has evolved, so this bright “murder” of crows has three-times the spark and energy to teach the public about the unique bonds formed among nature’s most intelligent birds.
Percy and Lenore, who became Animal Ambassadors after injuries left them with permanent disabilities, are known for their enthusiastic responses to human visitors, with vocalizations that imitate humans making the distinct “caw” sound of crows. The addition of a new crow ambassador, named Betty, has been a learning experience for the entire group.
As surrogates, Percy and Lenore are doing their part, teaching Betty to cache her food, identify predators and sound the alarms — like crows often do. They’ve even honed her mimicking skills when it comes to Mr. Gobbles, the wild turkey ambassador in the enclosure next door.
“Crows can live up to 30 years,” according to Stormy Gibson, director of education. “If Betty is to be released at some point in the future, it’s imperative we provide the confidence and the social skills she’ll need to thrive.”
Betty was first admitted to Ohio Wildlife Center’s free Wildlife Hospital in the fall of 2018, though her story began a year prior when a well-intentioned human likely scooped her up as a fledgling.
“It’s an unfortunate mistake,” said Gibson. “People see a bird on the ground, and they assume it’s injured or orphaned. In reality, babies just can’t fly that well. An attentive parent might be waiting near-by, but the chick is rescued and it ends up here. Or worse, it’s kept as a pet,” she said.
Dietary requirements for crows are complex, she explained. Poor nutrition can lead to metabolic bone disease — a painful degenerative condition — and in Betty’s case, it did. She arrived at the hospital with a deformed leg, the result of a fracture that didn’t heal. She also had no tail feathers, so she couldn’t fly.
After hospital assessment and care, Betty was transferred to the Pre-Release Facility to continue her recovery. The purpose was socialization, as three crows were already rehabbing there. Since crows live in family groups, this setting encouraged Betty to participate in natural behaviors, to caw like a crow along with the other birds.
But when her companions were released, she became depressed and stopped eating.
“The mantra never changes,” Gibson stated. “We act in the interest of the animal. Betty still had poor feather quality, even with our intervention. She was nowhere close to flying. Thus her psyche became my top priority.”
So the Center applied for and received a permit from the Ohio Division of Wildlife to have Betty become an animal ambassador.
After a brief quarantine period at the hospital, she gained her new family unit: shared residence with Percy and Lenore at the Dempsey animal building.
Crow Duet: Percy and Lenore
Percy was brought to the Wildlife Hospital in May, 2011. Gibson believes she was blown from a tree in a high wind event. She then became entangled in a fence. Percy’s parents, while trying to free her, fractured her wing, leaving the nestling permanently disabled.
Prior to Lenore’s arrival, Percy reveled in the company of her caretakers and played favorites. Crows are renowned for their intelligence, whether making tools to retrieve insects from a piece of rotting wood, stealing food from an unsuspecting competitor or memorizing the routes of the neighborhood garbage trucks.
They also have the uncanny ability to discern the differences between human faces.
When Lenore joined Percy in June of 2015, she too had a debilitating wing injury. She was four years younger than her fellow ambassador. She was also smaller, though that didn’t deter her from picking at Percy’s feathers and stealing her food.
“Family structure matters,” Gibson reiterated. “Crow families have established hierarchies. And like people, there’s bound to be some drama. We tried separating the two for feeding, but the perceived favoritism affected Lenore. So we allowed the relationship to take its natural course.”
Fast-forward to 2019, and Lenore still rules the roost — in a gentler kind of way. It’s too early to understand Betty’s ranking within the group, Gibson said.
The American crow is common in all of Ohio’s 88 counties. Yet there’s more to conservation than a stable population.
Human interference — no matter how well-intentioned — often leads to disastrous consequences, Gibson noted.
Betty’s bone disease is irreversible, regardless of her exceptional medical care, Gibson said, and that is linked to the early diet deficits she experienced. And while she has grown some tail feathers, her potential for flight is still in question.
Her ability to fully integrate into crow society is also undetermined, since she’s grown up without her extended family.
According to Gibson, mated pairs stay together for life. They’re known for sharing their territories with their offspring, who return the favor by helping to raise subsequent broods.
To help with her transition to the ambassador group, Betty chose her own name. Given a collection of paper pieces with different names, Betty literally pulled her name out of tray.
This story was contributed by author and volunteer Linda Forte-Spearing.