Loss of Whooping Cranes at the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge
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Whooper
Reintroduction Updates
Current Trip:
Spring 2007: Eastern Whooping
Crane Migration
Entry February 3
Loss of Whooping Cranes
at the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge
WCEP NEWS RELEASE
The Whooping Crane Eastern
Partnership (WCEP) regretfully announces the loss of the 18 juvenile
whooping cranes at the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge. The
cranes died as a result of the storms that swept through central
Florida during the evening and early morning of February 1 and 2.
We
are in the initial stages of determining the cause of death of the 18
whooping cranes, which comprised the ultralight-led “Class of
2006” and
arrived at the Chassahowitzka NWR in mid January. Following standard
protocol, WCEP personnel checked on the cranes the evening of February
1. Due to the magnitude of the storm and the location of the pensite,
personnel were unable to safely check on the cranes until this
afternoon, at which time the birds were discovered dead in their
enclosure.
While this is a setback for the whooping crane
reintroduction project, WCEP has faced challenges in the past and we
plan to move forward with our effort to return this highly imperiled
species to its historic range in eastern North America.
“My
heart is aching both for the young birds we lost and for the dedicated
people who devote so much of themselves to this project, only to see
the cranes’ lives end in this devastating manner. These birds
were the
start of a new generation of life for the species, but we will recover
and continue our work,” said John Christian, co-chair of the
Whooping
Crane Eastern Partnership. “Our thoughts also go out to those
in
central Florida who suffered personal losses as a result of these
storms.”
Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership founding members are
the International Crane Foundation, Operation Migration Inc., Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the
U.S. Geological Survey’s Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
and National
Wildlife Health Center, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the
Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, and the International
Whooping Crane Recovery Team.
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