Class of 2008 is Hatching, June 6, 2008

The Whooping Crane egg/chick season at ICF and the other captive breeding centers is in full swing. 

We currently have two Whooping Crane chicks at ICF and eight fertile eggs.  The two chicks are being raised by costumed biologists and will likely become part of this year’s DAR (Direct Autumn Release) cohort.

In addition to the two chicks being raised at ICF, we recently shipped three eggs to the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland to become part of this year’s ultralight-led cohort.  Marianne Wellington, ICF Chick Rearing/Reintroduction Specialist accompanied the eggs during their flight to Maryland.  All three eggs successfully hatched--the chicks are Whooping Crane numbers 12-08, 18-08 and 20-08.

Patuxent currently has 18 Whooping Crane chicks, including the three from ICF.  The eggs came from the captive breeding centers at Patuxent, the Calgary Zoo, and the Audubon Species Survival Center in New Orleans.  Three of the chicks are from the eggs retrieved at the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge (there was a fourth chick from Necedah, but that chick unfortunately died). The first shipment of chicks from Patuxent to the Necedah NWR is scheduled for June 25.  The 2008 Whooping Crane season is underway!

Update by Joan Garland, ICF Education Outreach Coordinator.