Two-year-old boy Otto and Russell the wild crow have an amazing bond.
All last summer, the pair spent hours playing together. When Otto was in the house, the rescue crow would sit at the window waiting for his human buddy; and when it was time for Russell to enter the house, he'd sit on the shoulders of family members or perch on the couch to watch TV, and allow himself to be stroked—but only by Otto.
“Before we got Russell, I didn’t know that crows could be affectionate,” Otto’s mom, Lærke Luna Jensen, from Denmark, told The Epoch Times.
The Rescue
Ms. Jensen, a 30-year-old healthcare worker, and her partner, Christian Rosenberg, live in Denmark with their two children, Otto and 1-year-old Hedwig.Last year, Mr. Rosenberg, an arborist, was outside working in their garden when he noticed a young crow sitting close to him. Well used to finding hurt animals, Mr. Rosenberg didn’t attempt to disturb the bird at first but instead kept an eye on it.
Staying very still, the crow appeared not to move throughout the day, and no other birds arrived to check up on it. Mr. Rosenberg realized the crow was likely hurt and called a local wildlife rehabilitator, who advised him to simply let nature take its course. But the dad of two felt that the injured bird deserved a fair chance at survival, so he gently picked up the weak creature and took it home to safety.
In the months that followed, the couple nursed the bird back to health.
“Russell, at the time, didn’t know how to fly or anything,” Ms. Jensen said. “We tried to train him to be a wild bird, to make sure that he’s capable of providing for himself.
“It was never our intention to keep Russell as a pet, and we never forced him to bond with Otto or with us. But throughout last summer, Otto and Russell’s relationship just developed.”
The funny thing is, Ms. Jensen says, she too formed a relationship with the bird—but she was more like the food provider. It was clear that the bird saw little Otto as a playmate.
In the beginning, Ms. Jensen tried to keep the young crow away from her son because she was afraid Russell might hurt him, or he the bird. But when the little boy became fascinated by the crow, constantly approaching him, she soon realized keeping them apart would be impossible.
“Russell would just let Otto go up to him; he would sit completely still. They were just so sweet towards each other,“ she said. ”Russell never tried to do anything to harm Otto and vice versa.”
The ‘Naughty’ Crow’s Antics
Whenever Russell saw Otto, he would fly up to him. And incredibly, if the toddler was outside playing with his toys, the crow would pick up little stones and give them to his human friend as a kind of game.If Otto was riding his scooter, Russell would be right there next to him. When Ms. Jensen started up her car to drive her son to daycare, Russell would sit on top of the vehicle. It was as if the crow just wanted to be around the family who'd rescued him.
Otto’s family also has three dogs and two cats with whom Russell formed a “love-hate” relationship.
Since the couple had previously rescued other animals, caring for them temporarily until they could be taken in by wildlife rehabilitators, their pets were used to seeing other arrivals. After introducing them slowly to Russell, the five pets accepted the curious, playful bird just fine.
Watch the video:
‘A Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience’
When the cold, dark Danish winter came, and the family wasn’t outside as much, often several days would pass when they didn’t catch a glimpse of Russell. During this time, the crow grew more independent and made friends with a flock of wild crows.Now, Russell doesn’t allow anyone to touch him or come as close. But he still stays nearby, watching Otto and the rest of the family. While boy and bird are not as close as they used to be, Ms. Jensen says it’s the right thing for Russell.
“He needs to be a bird, and not have a bond with humans,“ she said. ”But I think the fact that he let us get so close to him is an amazing thing—not many people get this close to crows. I know a lot of people have tried to befriend crows, and they take several years to do it. So it’s been a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us.”
For Otto, it’s been a little hard to understand why Russell doesn’t like to be petted anymore. But even now, when Otto is outside, the crow can still be seen in the distance. To this day, he’ll be waiting for them when they get home.
“I like to think of him as a guardian watching over my kids,” said Ms. Jensen, who admits she used to think crows were a nuisance, and “kind of irritating because they’re so smart.”
However, she’s now definitely changed her opinion of them: “They’re intelligent creatures, and they’re really misunderstood. I kind of see Russell as being a mentor towards my kids, introducing them to wildlife and nature. I’m really grateful to him for that.”
After sharing clips of the heartwarming story, which quickly went viral, on her Instagram page, Ms. Jenson received lots of sweet comments and an overwhelmingly positive response.
“Of course,” she says, “there’ve been some people who were worried because crows have a reputation for picking peoples’ eyes out. But, of course, I put my kids’ safety above anything else, and we never left Otto unsupervised with Russell as he’s still a wild bird.”
Otto is still only small, but he’s already showing signs of being fascinated with animals.
“My son is very curious about all different kinds of birds, not only Russell,” the mom said. “But he can tell the names of several birds. Russell has been a wonderful way of teaching our children how to respect and appreciate nature.”
