He's known fame, he's known adventure and now he knows sorrow.
Just when it appeared as though East Vancouver's infamous bad boy bird was settling down and starting a family, news emerged Wednesday that all of Canuck the crow's chicks have died.
"It is my sad duty to inform all of you that Canuck and Cassiar's babies did not survive this year," the bird's human ambassador, Shawn Bergman, said in a Facebook post Wednesday.
Bergman said the new family had experienced "many ups and downs" during nesting season, but it's unclear what went wrong.
"With nesting season, there is a lot that goes on. With the building of the nest, egg laying, nest sitting, hatching, feeding, protecting, and teaching," he wrote. "Crow parents definitely have their work cut out for them."
From hitching a ride on a SkyTrain to stealing a knife from a crime scene, the human-raised bird's exploits have made headlines in the city over the years.
But when his chicks hatched early last month, it appeared Canuck was a changed crow.
During a May visit by CTV News, he seemed like a subdued version of himself as he tended to his nest with lady friend Cassiar. Gone were the days of dive-bombing mail carriers and pestering McDonald's patrons.
Bergman said Canuck and Cassiar are physically healthy, but are "visibly sad."
"I'm not a crow expert, but I now know what it looks and sounds like when a crow cries," he said.
