Dark cracks in light wood

[broken solar]

I wouldn't mind the cracks if they blended in more, or were in interesting patterns, but this is a little too flawed. Is there any way to hide these? I tried glue mixed with sawdust, and that helped with the crack on t he back, but the other cracks are too tight to get anything in there. I especially want to hide the one on the face. Should I try carving the crack bigger and then filling it, or is there something less destructive I can try?
This is a gift for someone who's cat died, and the branch I carved it from was cut the same day the cat died. I really don't want to start over with a new piece.

[pseudo sparrow]

Either do the epoxy and sawdust trick or CA glue and sawdust which is very risky with the dry time of CA glue

Maybe just maybe coat it with a thin layer of shellac mix up some epoxy with blue tint or mica powder and like the cat is crying

It crying might not be the vibe your going for an apparently that wood was no where near dry when you carved it and more cracks might happen in the future if not stabilized

[broken solar]

A friend of mine suggested filling the cracks with gold paint, like a kintsugi repair. The recipient of this gift is aware of kintsugi and wabi sabi philosophy, so it might be my best option. Just so it's more durable, maybe I'll mix your ideas and use gold mica powder or similar and a thin CA glue.