A Sandhill Crane Versus a Black Bear

Just one more reason to appreciate Sandhills Cranes!

Years ago on the Dick Cavett Show a rancher told a story about finding a nest of sand hill cranes in a flood. He took the home and put them under his hens. When they hatched they imprinted and followed him everywhere. One day months later, they followed him to the top of a hill behind his house. He was wondering what was off about them. He realized that they didn't know how to fly away when the season changed. So being a rancher used to caring for critters, he flapped his arms. The birds looked at each other and him. Then they flapped their wings. He started running down the hill flapping his arms and the birds ran too. Their flapping put them into the air and they learned to fly. The rancher flapped into his yard surrounded by cranes just in time to meet his Banker (there to discuss a loan)who just drove up. 😄😄

That was an amazing encounter between the black bear and the crane! Excellent job on the video. Thanks for your work.

VERY COOL! Love that you narrated this so we can know what's going on, and the footage is great! Thanks for producing a great video of an amazing event.

Great video! I'm in FL and I've got 2 that come by everyday for a snack of cracked corn and bird pellets. As long as I'm sitting down, they will walk up to me within about 3-4 feet. I figured they were pretty good at protecting themselves with their long sharp beaks, but I had no idea they could be so ferocious!

What a fantastic video! Thanks so much for sharing it with the world. We live about 90 minutes from Jasper Pulaski Nature Preserve in Indiana, a very large and traditional stopping point for the Sandhill migration. We typically have 10 to 15 thousand birds at peak in mid November. Quite a sight, and we try not to miss it each year. The cranes are my favorite creature on earth, so this video brought tears of joy and appreciation to my eyes.

Big daddy Crane.lol

I have Sandhill Cranes in my backyard & dearly love them !!

Wonderful video, thanks for sharing this with the rest of us!

I love Sandhills! Just had a couple circling above my house calling, unusual since I live in town, but their habitat is diminishing because of the ridiculous amount of subdivisions going in...😢

Beautiful video!

Very informative and entertaining videos. Thanks for posting.

Great footage! Thank you!

Bears probably thinking, wth you loony bird, lol..

One tough daddy.

Amazing video and narrating, keep em coming if you got more.

Beautiful narration. Lots of people mistake these birds as geese. They are the oldest avian species on Earth.

These birds are very social, I have walked among them in the grounds where we live in Tampa, Florida. They will walk up to you stopping as close as 15 feet away. Of course they are cautious but do not seem overly bothered by the presence of people near them. Try taking a nap during the day when these cranes are close, within a half block from the bedroom, it is guaranteed sleep will be interrupted including when windows are closed. Their call, like a variable high pitched rolling r, carries with much volume over long distances and they love to shout the call repeatedly as they stroll the ground usually as a family together.

God I love their calls.

I believe the crane was on the "offensive" since it was the one doing the chasing.