Baby

Here is Baby, an American Crow, at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. I volunteered there for three years before I moved to Arkansas.

Baby was one of my favorite animals at the Academy. She was rescued as a baby and got too used to humans to be released back into the wild. She was playful and friendly and very smart. She always greeted me with a "cawcaw!" whenever I came into the Live Animal Center. Even when I would come back to Philadelphia to visit after moving to Arkansas, she would greet me every time i walked in front of the LAC. She used to chase shoe laces of all the volunteers, and would sit on top of your shoes and go for a ride while you walked around. One of her favorite perches was on the hinge of the door frame to the visitors area so she could watch everyone pass by. She also hated her jesses (the leather straps that were placed on all the birds of prey's legs so volunteers had something to hold onto) but instead of trying to unknot them, Baby figured out that she could just soak them in her water dish long enough for the leather to crack, and then she'd just pull them off.

The last time I went up to visit the Academy I found out that Baby had passed away. I knew she was gone before anyone told me though, since she wasn't there at the door to greet me. I miss that Crow..