A Mixed Pair of Whooping Cranes!
(Story below photo)
 |
Image:
Billie Dodd. Monroe County, Indiana on April 6, 2011 |
"Eastern
flock female #519 must
be quite strong-willed and attractive to coax Male #1343 away
from FL where he has lived for over 7 years and even nested last year
[2010]," said Marty
Folk. Mr. Folk knows a lot about male Whooping crane #1343. He is an aviculturalist
who has overseen the Florida nonmigratory flock since is was first established
in 1993. Mr. Folk tells us more about Male 1343, who surprised everyone
when he left the flock to migrate with new lady-love, female #519, in April
2011:
Meet
Male #1343
"He
was hatched at the International Crane Foundation in Wisconsin on June
19, 2003. He was
isolation/ costume
reared,
then
released
in
Florida on December 21, 2003.
He had paired with female 1348 and in 2010 they nested for the first
time. They hatched two chicks and raised both to at least 15 days
of age. Raising
two chicks
to 15
days of age is a record for this flock. Until now a pair had only
raised both
of their chicks up to 12 days of age before losing one. The pair
raised the remaining chick until at least 33 days of age before it
went missing.
What Makes Him Special
"Crane
#1343 (with
his mate) successfully hatched 2 chicks on his first attempt, he (with
his mate) raised them for a record
amount of
time! So here ya go Wisconsin, with a shot-in-the-arm of good breeding
potential by gaining this crane.
"Here’s
hoping for nesting, hatching and chick-rearing soon in Wisconsin by
the mixed pair!"
The Big Question:
- Mr. Folk adds: "This crane drama may get really juicy when she shows back up in “her” Wisconsin territory with another male! What will the other male (her previous mate #804) do? Stay tuned…"
What
do YOU think will happen? For updates on this story, see 519's
bio page. (Scroll down to "Spring 2011" for a surprise!)
Thanks to Marty Folk, Avian Research
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
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