Wandering Sandhill Crane Becomes Maryland Zoo's Newest Addition

BALTIMORE (WJZ)--In Japanese culture, cranes are good luck.

Here in Baltimore, the Maryland Zoo just got some good luck in a new addition.

Gigi Barnett explains why his name is Garrett.

You could say the new Sandhill Crane at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore is a little out of his element.

Taylor Zoghby,  animal keeper at the zoo says, "they're typically around Tennessee, West Virginia and west of there, through North America."

But based on his appetite, he seems right at home.

Garrett is the zoo's newest addition.

"He's super well-behaved actually and not really afraid of anything, which is part of the reason why he wasn't so good in the wild," said Zoghby.

Zoghby says Garrett's past is quite a mystery. Back in September, the Department of Natural Resources found him wandering around a packed Home Depot parking lot and coming dangerously close to traffic. And he wasn't afraid of humans!

"People may have been feeding him in their back yards or in parks or wherever he ended up," Zoghby says.

So, the DNR dropped him off at the zoo for a checkup. Vets gave Garrett a clean bill of health and the zoo decided to keep the 18-month-old bird.

Garrett now has a spot at the zoo and the DNR recently found two cranes just like him living in Garrett County.

Official say the bird was named Garrett because he was found in Garrett County.

Right now, Garrett is the only Sandhill Crane at the zoo. If his temperament allows, the zoo says it may find him a female companion and these birds mate for life.

The zoo says several factors could have led to Garrett ending up in Maryland. The most common is major storms -- which can sometimes confuse migrating birds.