More on Whoopers

As promised, here's a little whooping crane trivia to go with a few more photos:

At this point, there is estimated to be about 350 whooping cranes in the wild, with the vast majority on the Gulf Coast of Texas, just north of Corpus Cristi in and around the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. That number is, unfortunately, subject to change, however. Because of the extreme drought Texas has been experiencing, the water levels are very low in the whoopers' (as they're affectionately known) normal habitat, which means that they're having a hard time foraging for their favorite prey, crabs. There have been reports of at least 15 cranes dying on their wintering grounds, and that number can only climb as they make their arduous 2500 mile journey up into Canada for the breeding season.




Not all is negative however, as the true low point for these five-foot tall, 14-17 pound birds was in 1941 when there were only 15-21 birds left in the wild. In addition to the protections afforded the whooping cranes on the gulf coast, there have been several attempts to re-establish a second wild breeding population in Florida. The earliest involved placing whooper eggs in the nests of sandhill cranes, and while some did migrate, they failed to reproduce, so that effort was given up. Additional attempts include tries at a non-migratory flock, but that effort has been only marginally successful. The latest conservation efforts have involved the use of ultralights to teach the birds to migrate from Kissemmee, Florida up to summer grounds in Wisconsin, similar to the flock of geese memorialized in the movie "Fly Away Home."




Their seven and a half foot wingspan rivals that of NBA stars...







The above photo depicts the neck of the bird featured in many of these photos, five-year old "Scarbaby," so named because when he was a juvenile he was bitten in the neck by a snake. Initially, his head and neck swelled up and he was unable to eat. His parents, the Lobsticks (so-named because of the river where they spend their summers), delayed their migration until he was able to begin eating on his own, but then left. As an aside, Daddy Lobstick is now 30 years old, well beyond the 22-24 year average lifespan for whoopers in the wild. Scarbaby didn't migrate for two years, and conservationists feared that he would never do so. Happily, he finally met the right girl (the other crane featured in these photos) and began the annual commute as well.

Apparently, because of the extensive attention he received as a youngster, he is very comfortable under watchful eyes, and he and his mate are very accommodating to the boat tours that seek out whoopers at Aransas.



If you're still interested in more about whooping cranes and other birds as they migrate north for the spring, check out Journey North, which is designed for educators and their students. You can also browse Operation Migration for more information on those ultralight-flying, migration-teaching conservationists.