Whooping Crane Recovery Plan Revised

The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service revised the Recovery Plan for the endangered Growing from a low of only 21 birds in 1941, the total estimated number of whooping cranes today is 485, with 145 in captivity. They occur only in North America, and currently exist in the wild at three locations: the self-sustaining AWBP, an eastern U.S. population reintroduced beginning in 2001, and a non-migratory population in central Florida. Captive populations are maintained at nine sites. Historic population declines resulted from habitat destruction, shooting, and displacement by human-related activities. Current threats include limited genetics of the population, loss and degradation of migration stopover habitat, collisions with power lines, degradation of coastal habitat, and potential chemical spills.

With adults approaching five feet in height, the whooping crane is the tallest, and one of the rarest birds in North America. Adult birds have snow-white plumage with black wingtips. Cranes are known for their longevity and life-long pair bonds. Wild birds are known to live nearly 30 years, while captive whooping cranes live 35-40 years. The whooping crane breeds, migrates, winters and forages in a variety of habitats, including coastal and inland marshes, lakes, ponds, wet meadows, rivers, and agricultural fields. In the summer and winter, whooping cranes stay within a 50-mile range. The 2,400-mile long migration corridor for the AWBP is about 150 miles wide. These birds migrate for one to three months each spring and fall through prairie states and provinces, including Alberta, Saskatchewan, eastern Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.Low numbers, slow reproductive potential, and limited genetic diversity characterize the wild whooping crane population. The possibility exists that a stochastic, catastrophic event could eliminate the wild, self-sustaining AWBP. Therefore, the principal strategy of the draft revised Whooping Crane Recovery Plan is to augment and increase the wild population by reducing threats, and through the establishment of two additional and discrete populations. Offspring from the captive breeding population will be released into the wild to establish the populations in Florida and the eastern United States. Reproduction by released birds and their offspring will ultimately result in self-sustaining wild populations. The continued growth of the AWBP and the two additional populations will also stem the loss of genetic diversity.Interested persons can obtain a copy of the revised plan on a compact disc from the Whooping Crane Coordinator, Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, P.O. Box 100, Austwell, Texas 77950, or download it from the Internet at http://www.fws.gov/endangered (species search, whooping crane).