Whooping crane |
Whooping cranes are graceful, five-foot tall birds with predominantly white plumage. Other distinguishing features include black wingtips which are visible in flight and black and red markings on the face and crown. They are long-lived and will usually mate for life. Whooping cranes eat a wide variety of foods, including crabs, shrimp and other invertebrates in coastal areas, and insects, rodents and snails in upland areas.
The endangered whooping crane once regularly occurred in Florida. However, habitat loss, overhunting and egg collecting eliminated most of the eastern population of this species by the 1920s, leaving only a few year-round resident birds in Louisiana and a small migratory population that traveled from Canada to Texas. Whooping cranes were on the verge of extinction in the 1940s, when only 15 birds remained in the migratory population. However, because of the hard work of biologists to create breeding and reintroduction programs, whooping cranes have increased in number. Now with more than 250 birds migrating between Canada and Texas, and new experimental populations migrating from Wisconsin to Florida, these programs have been a huge success story.
Florida has been heavily involved with the reintroduction of migratory whooping cranes that are raised at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin. The birds imprint on the first thing they see, so they are hand-reared by biologists who wear crane suits and use crane puppets. When fall approaches, it is time for their first southward migration. The cranes learn to follow ultralight planes, and biologists and pilots set off with the flock, flying from Wisconsin to Florida. Beginning in January 2009, Florida will have two wintering populations (St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge and Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge). Upon arriving in Florida, the birds winter in protected enclosures within the two refuges. The following spring, the birds will migrate on their own back to Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. More information |
