Baby sarus crane joins Denver Zoo’s menagerie

Denver Zoo’s baby daycare has another member.

The zoo welcomed its first hatching of a sarus crane (pronounced SAHRus) on Aug. 17 to proud parents Violetta and Alfredo. The chick, whose sex is still unknown, weighed 0.291 pounds at birth. Keepers will be voting on the chick’s name.

Sarus cranes are the tallest of all flying birds, growing to nearly 6 feet. Their bodies are almost entirely gray and white, except for red necks and heads, according to the zoo.

The birds, which are native to Southeast Asia and Australia, are considered vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, which reports fewer than a thousand of the cranes. The chick raised the zoo’s sarus crane count to three.

Zookeepers found the chick’s egg July 15, eventually moving it to the Zoo’s Avian Propagation Center for artificial incubation to give the chick its best chance for survival. The parents were given a wooden egg to brood, which means to incubate.

When hatched, the unnamed chick was returned to its parents, who have been excellent caregivers so far, according to the zoo. The parents are always by their chick’s nest, feeding the chick worms. All three birds have been vocalizing with each other. The chick is very mobile and will take long walks around its enclosure.

The chick, Violetta and Alfredo can be seen at the Kenneth King Foundation Crane Lagoon at the zoo’s Toyota Elephant Passage.

The sarus chick joins Dobby, the baby giraffe; Miso-Chi, the baby fishing cat; and Scarlet, the baby parrot.