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Whooping Cranes Learn to Return NECEDAH NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, Wisconsin, April 29, 2002 (ENS) - Five whooping cranes that were taught to migrate by following ultralight aircraft made their way back to Wisconsin on their own last week. They represent an attempt to establish a second migratory flock of North America's largest and most endangered cranes. The five cranes are part of an experimental flock of cranes reintroduced to the wild last year by the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership. They returned to central Wisconsin following a 10 day migration of about 1,175 miles from Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. Their return north to Wisconsin is the cranes' first unassisted migration, guided only by their natural instincts.
Biologists Richard Urbanek with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (UFSWS) and Anne Lacy with the International Crane Foundation have been tracking the birds by their radio collars since April 9, when they began their northern migration from Florida. "The whole trip back has been so amazing and frustrating and difficult and joyous all at the same time," said Lacy. "As a scientist, I only have time to think about following the signal and knowing where the cranes are. But then I get a moment to think about the hugeness of this project. These birds are soaring the eastern flyway, by themselves, for the first time." The whooping cranes left Necedah National Wildlife Refuge last October led by ultralight aircraft flown by pilots from Operation Migration Inc. The sole wild flock, made up of about 120 birds, now winters at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas, where a disaster like a major storm or an oil spill could wipe out the entire population in the wild. Last fall, eight whooping cranes were guided on a 50 day, 1,228 mile migration that took them through seven states on their way to new wintering grounds in Florida. Only five survived through the winter. One was electrocuted by power lines during the migration, and bobcats killed two near their winter roosting area.
"It has been an exciting year," said Larry Wargowsky, refuge manager at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. "I thought I was amazed last year when the sandhill cranes made it back, but the arrival of these five cranes back to central Wisconsin has been nothing short of phenomenal." The five whooping cranes have made the trip to Wisconsin much more quickly than many people expected, and while this is not uncommon for the existing wild whooping cranes, it was cause for excitement among the study's project members. "The strength of the instinct that drove these cranes to make this return flight so directly and in such a short time is amazing," said Darrell Bazzell, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. "They've made it look easy compared to the efforts the partnership put out last summer and fall to raise, train and lead them to Florida." The whooping cranes will be monitored throughout the summer, and the monitoring will continue as they migrate back south in the fall. Project biologists hope the future cycles of migration will teach them new aspects of whooping crane behavior and migratory instincts.
"The progress these birds have made is exciting," said Beth Goodman, project co-leader and whooping crane coordinator for Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. "We knew existing wild whooping cranes were capable of crossing great distances on migration. However, these birds were an unknown, and to have them fly for six to eight hours each leg is exciting and rewarding to all of us." Up to 20 whooping crane chicks hatched at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland will be trained this year to join the new Wisconsin flock. According to the International Crane Foundation, cranes have inhabited this earth for the last 34 to 50 million years. Although cranes live on five of the seven continents, many populations are declining due to habitat loss and unregulated hunting. Seven of the 15 species of cranes are currently designated as endangered and four others have been proposed for listing. Related Links: The Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership at: http://www.bringbackthecranes.org/back/q-and-as-new.htm The International Crane Foundation at: http://www.savingcranes.org/ Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2002. All rights reserved. |
Whooping cranes (Photo courtesy 
Whooping crane #7 forages for food alongside several sandhill cranes in a wildlife area in south-central Wisconsin. (Photo by Richard Urbanek, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
The five surviving cranes back in Wisconsin (Photo courtesy of the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership)