Wildlife worker teaches orphaned crane creative trick to drink water, the clip is too adorable to miss

Most staff members at the animal rehabilitation center work day and night, taking care of the animals in a way that feels both comforting and motherly. Their top aim is to heal, nurture, and prepare the injured, sick, and abandoned animals for releasing them back into the wild. Likewise, a video shared on FreeMe Wildlife (@freemewildlife on Instagram) beautifully captured their worker teaching an orphaned crane to drink water. The staff member's creative approach of guiding the crane while helping it adapt to its surroundings has gone viral on social media.

In the now-popular Instagram reel, the worker was seen draped in a long garment, successfully hiding their face. Interestingly, to effectively guide the crane in drinking water from a water enclosure, the worker wore a glove designed to mimic the appearance of a wader. Initially, the crane looked baffled but later moved near the pond, trying to follow what the worker was doing. After two attempts, the crane eventually learned to drink water. Besides, just as the worker tried to leave, the bird playfully chased after them. 

Meanwhile, when an individual—who goes by—u/scientiaetnatura065 on Reddit posted the same video, it received an overwhelming response on the platform. For instance, reacting to the clip, u/competitive_hand_394 commented, "Have to be honest, it kind of blows my mind that they have to be taught how to drink. Seems to me it would be instinctive. But I could be wrong." u/sea-associate-4060 commented, "I love South Africa. We have some of the most creative people and good deeds are all around. I love how people go the extra mile. I am who I am because of who we all are."

u/pretend-buy7384 commented, "'You are my weird looking mum and I love you!' These kinds of heroes deserve as much respect as fire-fighters and medical staff." On the other hand, u/Iwillnotcomment9398 wrote, "Probably, just like a human baby. Human babies are more helpless than most animals, but much of what we used to think was instinctual behavior by animals is actually taught by the parents."

u/dyerrik commented, "Well yes, it does help, if a baby bird is raised by a human, it imprints on them and can even start thinking it a human as well instead of their own species, which means they won't produce offspring with other members of their species, which is a massive problem if they want to release it to the wild. This is why caretakers at animal rehabs wear bird hand puppets or masks like we can see here while caring for the baby birds." u/314159265358979326 wrote, "My wife and her sister had two ducks when they were little. Naturally, they didn't know what to do with water. So one day my wife and her sister got a big tub of water, grabbed the ducks by the neck, plunged them, and dragged them through the water. It sounds like torture! But the ducks loved it and began diving just like that over and over for hours. It sounds adorable and I wish it'd been in the age of camera phones."

You can follow FreeMe Wildlife (@freemewildlife) on Instagram for more animal-related content.