| 5.
Knowing Your Place in the Group
Cranes
are aggressive birds! Each youngster comes to know its place: that
is, who it can "boss around" and who bosses it around!
Chicks
in Captivity
These chicks live in a flock of 6 to 24. They learn to
accept the many other baby cranes that are not related to them.
There's
plenty of food for all of them, but they still need to sort
out who's top dog — or rather, top bird. As soon as
every chick knows exactly where it fits in the "pecking
order"
— from least to most dominant — there is less need
for fighting when a conflict comes up. |
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Chicks
in the Wild
Chicks in the wild don't hang out in big groups. They may have
one sibling. If they do, there's still a pecking order! If
two
baby cranes in a nest survive hatching, the larger one —
which was born first — will kill or dominate the other.
If the smaller one lives, it learns to stay out of the way
of its sibling! |
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More!
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