Animals: Squawk

Long-necked Japanese cranes make a peculiar gurgling squawk. Near the crane pen in the Washington Zoo stands a pretentious apartment house whose residents have long been annoyed by the gurgling squawks of the Zoo’s cranes—Japanese, Siberian, domestic. When Senator Edward Prentiss Costigan of Colorado moved into this apartment house, other tenants hoped he would be disturbed by the cranes, be awakened by one particularly noisy Japanese crane (named Anson) who squawked before dawn each morning. They felt sure that if Senator Costigan complained, something would be done to silence the cranes.

Last week, though they had not yet heard from Senator Costigan, the Zoo officials announced they were considering three courses: They could move loud Crane Anson to a special pen further away from the apartment house; perform tonsilectomy on all the cranes; put all the cranes in the giraffe pen, move the giraffes, which, unable to make any sound with their mouths, sometimes have an unpleasant smell, nearer to Senator Costigan.