Hear
From the Experts: Explore the Web archives. Good
places to start:
• Hear
Dan Sprague explain why he wears the costume (audio clip)
• How
do the chicks learn to eat? (video clip, viewing guide,
followup story)
• What is captive
breeding, and why is it necessary?
• What
are the official
rules by which these cranes are raised and trained? Why
is each rule important?
Critical
Thinking. Discuss: What dangers
might result if the young Whooping cranes had false imprinting—that
is, if
they imprinted on a species other than their own? How could
false
imprinting hurt chances
for population growth in the flock?
Read
a Graph: Find out how many Whooping cranes are in
the reintroduced Eastern flock at this time. How many are
in the original (natural) Western flock? See
graphs on
the Web. (Please note the date on the page.
You may have to make allowances for crane deaths and final
counts after migrations. For more Total Population information,
click here.
For the current stats on all Eastern flock cranes, click
here.)
Journal: List some ways biologists help
baby cranes to imprint correctly on their species.
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