Picker-me-up for a chick

There's no chance of this little fellow biting the hand that feeds him.

That's because keepers at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust are determined to keep him at arm's length, especially at dinner time.



Staff at Slimbridge wildlife park in Gloucestershire are using a little-picker disguised as an adult crane to feed six chicks in order to minimise their exposure to humans.

Too much contact could ruin the chicks' chances of fending for themselves when they fly the nest. So the birds are being fed by the device designed to mimic adult cranes.