Greetings all!
Here's the official USFWS news release on the new whooper record!
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The following report is forwarded with permission from Tom Stehn, USFWS
biologist and US Whooping Crane Coordinator.
Where applicable, CWS stands for Canadian Wildlife Service; USFWS is US Fish and
Wildlife Service. Crane monitoring involves cooperative efforts and support by
both countries, plus many volunteers and non-profit organizations along the way.
Anyone wanting to contact Tom about the report or the whooping crane projects
can reach him via email at: tom_stehn@fws.gov . Other information, including
archived copies of these reports, can be found at the Texas Whooping Crane web
site at http://www.ccbirding.com/
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From: Elizabeth Slown
To: FW2 All R2 Users 11/30/2004 10:24
Subj: News Rls-Record # of Whooping Cranes
Date: November 30, 2004
WHOOPING CRANE POPULATION REACHES RECORD HIGH
A record number of endangered whooping cranes have already migrated for the
winter to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and the surrounding area along
the mid-coast region in Texas. The latest census flight on November 24 tallied
213 whooping cranes; 181 adults and 32 young who completed their first
migration. "Stragglers" can continue to arrive into December, with peak counts
for the winter usually not made until mid-December.
"This is the highest number of endangered whooping cranes wintering in Texas in
the last 100 years," said Tom Stehn, Whooping Crane Coordinator for the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service. "We beat last year's record by 19. The next highest
record was 194 whoopers in the fall of 2003."
The increase in numbers is due to very good nest production last summer. The
Canadian Wildlife Service reported a total of 54 nesting pairs that fledged 40
chicks on their nesting grounds in Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada. Whooping
cranes migrate to Canada to breed and nest. They and their young migrate to the
southern portions of the United States for the winter months. The young cranes
were old enough to fly by mid-August increasing their ability to escape from
predators and thus, their chances for survival.
People can view a family group of whooping cranes (two adults and one juvenile)
from a safe distance from the observation tower at the Aransas National Wildlife
Refuge in Austwell, Texas. The cranes stand more than five feet tall and have a
wingspan wider than most cars.
Two other male cranes would have boosted the numbers but were shot while
migrating through Kansas on early November. One died within the week. The other
is recuperating from shotgun wounds at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research
Center in Maryland, a federal facility involved in the recovery of the whooping
crane. It had received extensive treatment at Kansas State University from Dr.
James W. Carpenter, head of zoological medicine at Kansas State. The Kansas
Department of Wildlife and Parks volunteered to fly the bird to Patuxent.
Biologists do not expect the surviving whooper to be released into the wild but
could become part of the breeding program. "He could end up making an important
genetic contribution through the whooping crane breeding program," said
Carpenter. The bird has resumed eating some natural foods, but has an elevated
white blood cell count and is still recovering.
"The loss of one endangered bird should remind all hunters to be very sure of
their targets," said Stehn. "Whooping cranes are similar to sandhill cranes and
could be mistaken for one by inexperienced hunters. Sandhill crane season lasts
into December in parts of Texas so I encourage hunters to take extra care."
The current total North American population of wild and captive whooping cranes
is 468. Although the whooping crane population remains endangered, the comeback
of the species sets a standard for conservation efforts in North America. The
population in Texas reached a low of only 15 birds in 1941, before efforts were
taken to protect the species and its habitat. The population has been growing at
four percent annually and reached 100 birds in 1987.
"We were hoping for 200 whooping cranes in the year 2000, but the population
went into a decline for a couple years before rebounding back to 194 cranes last
winter," said Stehn. "Getting a record high count the day before Thanksgiving is
certainly something to be thankful for."
The only natural wild population of whooping cranes nest in the Northwest
Territories of Canada in summer and migrate 2,400 miles to winter at the Aransas
and Matagorda Island National Wildlife Refuges and surrounding areas. Their
winter range stretches out over 35 miles of the Texas coast about 45 miles north
of Corpus Christi, Texas. Wintering whooping cranes use salt marsh habitat
foraging primarily for blue crabs. Unlike most other bird species, whooping
cranes are territorial in both summer and winter and will defend and chase all
other whooping cranes out of their estimated 350-acre territories.
_________________________________________________
Elizabeth Slown, Public Affairs Specialist
505-248-6909
505-363-9592 (cell)
505-248-6915 (fax)
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Patty Waits Beasley
Corpus Christi, TX
email: patty@ccbirding.com
web:
http://www.ccbirding.com/