Whooping
Crane Migration Update: February 25, 2005
Today's Report Includes:
- Welcome to the Spring Season!
- Get Ready to Track Whooping Crane Migration
- Historic Times for Whooping Cranes: Tom Stehn's Report
- Bobcat Strikes at Florida Wintering Grounds
- Challenges of Rebuilding an Endangered Species
- Everybirdy's Got a Story: Challenge Question #1
Welcome to the Spring Season!
They stand nearly five feet tall. Their wingspan is wider than most cars. And they're an endangered species. Right now, the world's 262 migratory whooping cranes (in two flocks) are on their wintering grounds. They have just a few weeks to prepare for their spring migration north. We're glad you can join us!
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Left: The
rare Lobstick twins (named for the family territory) and a parent at
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas last winter.
Middle: Some of the youngest chicks in the new Eastern
flock, happily mucking in the mud of their Florida wintering site at
Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge.
Right: Lara
Fondow, crane tracker from ICF, readying her equipment for tracking
the tiny new Eastern flock.
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Again this spring, we will track the migrations of both migratory flocks:
- The young, new Eastern Flock wintering in Florida—reintroduced with the help of ultralight aircraft and a dedicated partnership of pilots and biologists.
- The original, larger Western Flock wintering in Texas—the only natural, wild, self-sustaining migratory flock in the world.
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Which
Eastern flock chick (hatched in 2004) is drinking from the
fresh-water bubbler in the Florida winter pensite? Click photo
to enlarge.
Then
see 2004 Banding
codes to learn its identity. Photo WCEP |
Historic
Times for Whooping Cranes: Tom Stehn's
Report
These are historic times for whooping cranes. Only 15 wild migratory
cranes remained in the early 1940s.
In 2004 they achieved a thrilling and long-awaited goal: passing
the 200
mark for
the first time since counts were started in the 1930’s! And in 2001,
with ultralight aircraft leading the way, the first captive-bred birds for
a new
flock of migratory
whooping cranes were reintroduced to the eastern U.S. Now wild whooping
cranes are flying in skies where they'd vanished for over a century.
Whooping
Crane Coordinator Tom Stehn says, "The beauty of these long-lived birds and
their extreme peril of extinction captured the hearts of many people. These
efforts
have made it possible for the species not only to persist, but also begin to
recover against
tremendous odds." Don't miss Tom's full report about the "A+" year the
whoopers just had. See Tom's story of the day he discovered the record-breaking
total, and find fun facts for showing off your knowledge:
Whooping Crane Population Recovery: How's it Going?
These graphs show growth of (1) the self-sustaining Western flock and (2) the new reintroduced Eastern flock. As Tom Stehn said, endangered whooping cranes are beginning to recover, against tremendous odds. In 2001, the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP) began efforts to establish a second migratory flock as further protection against extinction. Those young cranes and planes are the ones you follow with Journey South. The WCEP project has now been underway for 4 years. How is the new Eastern flock progressing? How successful do you think the reintroduction has been so far?
| How's it Going? | Whooping
Crane Population Recovery |
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| Original (Western) and new (Eastern) Migratory Flocks | New, reintroduced Eastern Flock Only |
Bobcat Strikes at Florida Wintering Grounds
Lara Fondow, crane tracker on duty at the Eastern flock's Florida wintering grounds, made a sad discovery on Feb. 6. She found the remains of whooping crane #214 approximately 1 mile from the Chassahowitzka winter pen where the youngest flock members stay. This almost-3-year-old female crane had apparently been killed by a bobcat on February 1 or 2.
As a chick (HY2002), crane #214 was eager to work with the ultralight and costumes. What things was this brave bird the only one in the flock to do? Last fall she was the first in the eastern flock to reach the Florida wintering grounds. Finding no whoopers at the pen site, she went off to another area. What happened when she later came back? Find answers in her life story, here:
- Link
to Biography of Crane
214
Challenges
of Rebuilding an Endangered Species
We've said that only 15 wild migratory whooping cranes survived
in the early 1940s. the US and Canada have teamed up and worked hard
to help the wild whoopers. It took over 40 years for the Aransas/Wood
Buffalo (Western) population to
reach
100
birds,
and
another
18 years to reach 200. The
new Eastern flock is slowly growing too, with gains and losses.
Why does rebuilding an endangered species take so long? Next time we'll
hear more but for now, think about this:
Everybirdy's Got a Story: Challenge Question #1
Why was the death of Eastern flock female #214 of such concern? What is now the ratio of males to females in the new Eastern flock? What happened to each of the cranes that is no longer in the flock? How many different examples of challenges to survival can you find? What are the challenges in rebuilding an endangered species? Discover for yourself by reading the life stories of the whooping cranes in the tiny new Eastern flock. Find them here:
As you spend time getting to know the flock, make up your own list of "Twenty Questions" to stump your friends. Then send us your answer to:
Challenge Question #1:
"What has been the biggest risk to survival of the new Eastern cranes? Back up your answer with examples from individual crane biographies."
(To respond to this question, please follow instructions below.)
How to Respond to Today's Challenge Question:
1. Address
an e-mail message to: jn-challenge-crane@learner.org
2. In the Subject Line of your message write: Challenge
Question #1.
3. In the body of EACH message, give your answer to ONE of the questions
above. (Thanks for including the name of your school and town, too.)
The Next Crane Migration Update Will Be Posted on March 11, 2005.
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