MELBOURNE, Fla. — (WESH/NBC) - A heartwarming reunion between a lost crane chick and its parents was captured on camera by an animal hospital director in Brevard County.
A tiny sandhill crane was reunited with its mother, father and sibling along Melbourne, but it hasn’t been easy.
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The lost chick was brought to the Florida Wildlife Hospital after last week's hailstorm.
"He probably got separated from his parents in the storm," said Tracy Frampton of the Florida Wildlife Hospital.
Frampton put the chick in a covered cage, and went looking for the parents, and quickly found two adult cranes already with a chick.
This crane family's chick was much older and larger, and could not have hatched at the same time as the missing one.
Still, the mother bird started feeding the lost chick.
"Unfortunately, it was seen alone later, so they probably figured out, you know what, this doesn't seem right," said Frampton.
But that didn’t stop Frampton. She tried again,and found two parents with a baby chick that was the similar size.
The mother heard her chick calling from the cage.
"To see them back with what was definitely their parents was very, very heartwarming," said Frampton
Workers at the Florida Wildlife Hospital say like to keep wildlife wild.
"We knew his best chance for survival is to get him back with his parents," said Frampton.
This time, the lost chick stayed with the crane family -- a happy reunion!
Courtesy WESH via NBC News Channel