this post was submitted on 09 Oct 2024
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Science Memes

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submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 60 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I have some sad news.

[–] TragicNotCute 104 points 2 months ago (4 children)

I found this particularly funny. It wasn’t like a funny accidental thing. Dude was trying to mate with the bird.

In September 2004, Walnut arrived at NZCBI’s Virginia campus, where scientists regularly breed cranes that have behavioral or physical limitations by using assisted reproduction techniques, including artificial insemination. By observing and mimicking how NZCBI’s male white-naped cranes interacted with their mates during breeding season, bird keeper Chris Crowe gained Walnut’s elusive trust. He pair-bonded with her by flapping his arms in a manner similar to the species’ unison dance, offered her nesting materials and brought her food. Once she was receptive to breeding, Crowe was able to use sperm collected from a male crane to artificially inseminate Walnut without the need for physical restraint

They had 8 chicks together.

[–] HootinNHollerin 63 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Bro better have gotten ‘Exceeds Expectations’ on his performance review

[–] flicker 28 points 2 months ago

Can you imagine if she had rejected him? She could've killed him!

[–] FuglyDuck 7 points 2 months ago

I wonder if he had another partner. And if they were jealous.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

Amazing

[–] [email protected] 76 points 2 months ago (1 children)

At 42 years old, Walnut was considered geriatric for her species. She far surpassed the median life expectancy for white-naped cranes in human care, which is 15 years.

[–] DrownedRats 67 points 2 months ago (4 children)

She lived almost 3 times the average life expectancy for her species!?! That's genuinely insane! Imagine a human living to 180 years old!

[–] [email protected] 39 points 2 months ago

Single women live longest

[–] [email protected] 31 points 2 months ago (2 children)

This happens quite often with animals in captivity. Nature is dangerous (and health care is important!)

[–] KazuyaDarklight 18 points 2 months ago (1 children)

15 seems to be the captivity average though, not natural average.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Fair point, I was just speaking generally, and that she actually lived way longer than most of her species since most aren't in captivity

[–] flicker 4 points 2 months ago

White napped crane life expectancy in the wild is unknown.

So it sounds like you didn't know that, either.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago

Unfortunately there are many counterexamples, large animals that live long in the wild tend to have shorter lives in zoos, like elephants, hippos, and monkeys.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 months ago

The secret is murdering your spouses?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

(Avg life expectancy of humans without tech is prob 20, but humans could live to 100+ thousands of years ago, nothing changed, we just systemically eliminated the factors in our environments that cause non-old age death (with cancer, neurological, and cardiovascular problems remaining the last lines), eg food quality, vaccines & healthcare overall, killing & sterilising every other ecosystem around us, you know, the usual)