WHOOPING CRANE

(GRUS AMERICANA)

AN EXAMPLE OF U.S./CANADA COOPERATION IN THE
PROTECTION AND RECOVERY OF ENDANGERED SPECIES

The Whooping Crane is probably the most famous endangered bird in North America and serves as an excellent example of U.S./Canada cooperation on species protection.

The story of the Whooping Crane dates back as far as 1941 when an all-time low of 16 individuals remained. Bringing the whooping crane back from the brink of extinction to the 335 birds that exist today is largely due to the actions of concerned individuals and organizations in Canada and the U.S. working together since the late forties.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Canadian Wildlife Service have led the charge to protect this unique bird. Their efforts have included sharing data and expertise; working together on captive-breeding and re-introduction programs; and, most recently, combining their respective recovery teams.

The resulting joint Recovery Team consists of five Canadians and five Americans with the remainder of the membership coming from federal, provincial, state and non-government organizations. The team is directing an experimental introduction of non-migratory cranes in Florida, investigating the establishment of a second migratory flock in the Canadian prairies, and working to develop a suitable technique for establishing this new flock.

The whooping crane has a long neck, long, dark pointed bill and long, thin black legs. A large male is about 1.5 m (5 feet) tall and in the air its wings measure 2 m (6.5 feet) or more. It is an imposing bird with snowy-white plumage, black bristlelike feathers on its crown and face, a small black patch on the back of its head below the crimson crown and bright yellow eyes. The juvenile bird has dark brown eyes and cinnamon-and-white plumage. In both adults and juveniles the white wings are tipped with black.

Whooping cranes get their name from the distinctive calls made during early spring courtship when a pair of birds may perform a duet. A nesting crane frequently bugles loud and clear during the early morning hours to ward off intruders. During migration, whooping cranes fly like gliders on fixed wings. They spiral upward aided by thermal air currents, glide down, and then begin spiraling upward again.

The current breeding distribution of wild whooping cranes is restricted to a small area in the northern part of Wood Buffalo National Park near Fort Smith in Canada’s Northwest Territories. This migratory population winters in and around Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on the Gulf coast of Southern Texas.

Their nesting habitat consists of marshes, shallow ponds, small creeks and patches of wooded terrain and shrubs. Winter habitat comprises salt or brackish shallow bays, tidal marshes, tidal flats, freshwater upland ponds and grassland. Their migration habitats are fields of barley and wheat stubble, and wetlands.

Historically, whooping cranes were found throughout much of central and western North America. Breeding populations used the area from central Illinois northwestward to the arctic coast in the Mackenzie River area. The birds wintered along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to central Mexico. In the late 1800s, the population was approximately 1500 birds.

The species declined dramatically, to 16 in 1941, as human settlement spread westward and breeding habitat disappeared. Whooping cranes were hunted up to the early 1900s but were never numerous enough to be an important target for hunters. Powerlines, microwave towers and other structures are hazardous to flying cranes. In their wintering range in Texas, concern exists about ship traffic and the possibility of an oil or chemical spill and the effects of shoreline erosion on crane habitat.

In 1966, the Canadian Wildlife Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began a whooping crane captive-breeding program. A team of U.S. and Canadian scientists took six eggs from Wood Buffalo National Park (one egg from each clutch of two) and transported them by plane in a portable incubator to the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center near Laurel, Maryland. Between 1967 and 1996, 230 eggs were collected with intention of establishing a captive flock and eventually releasing offspring to bolster the wild population. Unfortunately, the cranes were difficult to breed in captivity and were prone to disease.

The nest disturbance had an interesting side effect, however. Recent studies have shown that by ensuring that the egg remaining in the clutch was alive, hatching success was actually increased.

Work continues with the experimental introduction of cranes into Florida. This non-migratory flock now numbers about 75 birds and consists of individuals hatched from eggs from Wood Buffalo National Park, Alberta’s Calgary Zoo (which recently became Canada’s only captive-breeding facility), the International Crane Foundation in Wisconsin, and the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Whooping Crane Coordinator
P.O. Box 1306
Albuquerque, NM 87103
(505) 248-6818

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge
P.O. Box 100
Austwell, Texas 77950
(512) 286-3559

April 1997