U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE NEWS RELEASE
From: Ken Torkelson, USFWS (701-355-8528) April 19, 2007
DEAD WHOOPING CRANE FOUND IN MORTON COUNTY
Federal and state wildlife biologists have found no evidence of human
involvement in the death of a whooping crane whose remains were found
yesterday in a field near Almont, N.D.
Photos North Dakota Game and Fish Department
A
farmer plowing his field found the remains of the rare bird. A preliminary
inspection revealed the whooper may have suffered a broken
neck. Investigators
for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the N.D. Game and Fish
Department said there appeared to be no evidence of foul play. They
believe the
bird had been dead for at least one day before it was found, but
that it appeared to have been in good health. The carcass is being
sent
to the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis. for analysis. [FOLLOW-UP:
The crane died from blunt-force
trauma, likely caused from
the rare bird striking the ground. The bird
could have had a heart attack before it hit the ground, but that
would be rare.]
An identification band attached to the dead whooper shows that it hatched
and was banded in 1983, making it a very old bird. Biologists say most
whooping cranes do not live much beyond 20 years in the wild.
Tom Stehn, the whooping crane coordinator for the Fish and Wildlife
Service at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas, is familiar
with the bird
found near Almont. He called it a productive male. “It first
nested in 1986 and brought its first chick to Aransas in 1987. In
21 years of
nesting, it successfully brought seven chicks to Aransas. It was
still a very productive male, having brought six chicks to Aransas
out of
the last 10 years.”
The dead bird and its mate both were equipped with radio collars
in the early 1980s, recalled Stehn. “We called them the ‘radio pair.’ Not
only did they produce seven offspring, but they provided us with
a lot of valuable information about whooping crane movements.”
Stehn recalled another memory of the whooper found near Almont. “It
was involved in the fastest whooper migration across the United States
ever recorded,” he related. In the fall of 1983, this bird and
its parents were in a flock of six whooping cranes that landed near Pierre,
S.D. on Nov. 8. They were found on the Texas coast just three days later.
Stehn explained, “They were pushed by strong tailwinds and
a low pressure system on their way south and must have flown pretty
much
non-stop
except maybe for some brief stops. The bad weather connected with
the low pressure system kept the tracking crew from staying with
them,
and basically the trackers caught up to the birds in Texas.”
There are 236 whooping cranes in the wild. Each spring, they migrate
from their wintering grounds on the Gulf Coast of Texas to their breeding
grounds at Wood Buffalo National Park in the Northwest Territories
of Canada. That trip takes most of them through North Dakota,
and state
residents typically report several sightings each spring, and again
in the fall on their return.
Stehn said North Dakota residents could see whoopers anytime
for the next month or more. “Most of the flock has left Aransas, and we
just had our first sighting in Canada,” he noted. “There
were 21 or 22 birds seen in Nebraska last weekend, and North Dakota
should be just a day or two away for those birds.”
Anyone seeing a whooping crane is asked to contact the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service at (701)387-4397 or the N.D. Game and Fish Department
at (701)328-6300.
America’s tallest birds, adult whooping cranes are about
five feet tall, with a wingspan of seven feet. They are white with
black
wingtips
and red markings on their head. Whoopers frequently accompany the
smaller sandhill cranes, especially during migration. They feed
on crabs, crayfish,
frogs and other small aquatic life, as well as plants.
The whooping crane population dropped to an estimated 21 birds
in the 1940s, and they were listed as “endangered” in
1970.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency
responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife
and plants and
their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.
For more information, contact Ken Torkelson
at 701-355-8528.
Journey
North is pleased to feature this educational adventure made possible
by the
Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP).
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