Record Number of Whooping Cranes Arrives at Aransas Refuge

A record number of migrating whooping cranes has landed in Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in south Texas, indicating the national icon that nearly became extinct in the 1940s is making a comeback. Among the 234 cranes wintering on the refuge, 45 are chicks, including seven sets of twins.

“All of those numbers are breaking records,” said Tom Stehn, whooping crane coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Last year the refuge recorded a total of 220 cranes. Whooping cranes are listed as endangered in the United States. Loss of habitat and illegal shooting drove the numbers down to just 15 cranes in the 1940s.

The Fish and Wildlife Service and its other partners in crane preservation, including the International Crane Foundation and Operation Migration, started two other populations from the original flock. About 50 cranes now live year-round throughout central Florida. With the help of ultra-light aircraft, another flock, now numbering in the eighties, migrates between Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin and Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge in Florida.

Although ultra-light planes probably will be needed to help with migration for another four or five years, a chick hatched in the wild this past summer became the first to follow its parents to Florida. “It shows that the system is working, and instinct is taking over,” Stehn said.

Contact: Tom Stehn, 361- 286-3559.