#10-07 a.k.a. Kernel. Photo provided by Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa, FL.

Back in early June #10-07 was removed from the reintroduced eastern migratory population.  He was the first bird ever to be removed from the population, and it wasn’t an easy decision for the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership to make.  Here is the background story on why and how that decision was made along with an update on how he’s doing now.

When captive whooping cranes are reared for release we do everything possible to keep them away from humans and human activities and structures.  We do this to give them the best chance of being a wild bird once they’re released, but we’re always concerned about the birds becoming too tame and not showing enough fear of humans.  Unfortunately, despite our best efforts #10-07 became too tame. 

In the fall of 2008 five young birds, including #10-07 discovered the newly operational ethanol plant just south of the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge.  In particular the birds were attracted to the spilled corn.  Efforts to scare the birds out of the ethanol plant were eventually moderately successful.  Unfortunately, when the birds completed their fall migration to FL they settled in a residential area and efforts to scare the birds out of this area were not successful.  Number 10-07 and his female companion #22-07 were the worst behaved out of the group.  When the birds returned to WI in the spring, #’s 10 & 22-07 quickly returned to the ethanol plant and it was obvious their behavior was much worse than the previous fall.  Efforts to scare the birds out of the ethanol plant this time were not successful and the pair was joined by 2 additional birds from the original group of 5.  It was clear that #10-07 was the worst behaved of the bunch and essentially the leader. 

After a lot of effort and thought the tracking team made a recommendation to the partnership direction team that he be removed from the population.  Given his behavior at the ethanol plant and in Florida, and the likelihood it would continue to negatively affect other birds in the population, put his life at risk, and negatively impact our relationship with the ethanol plant, that was finally the conclusion we were forced to come to.  We hoped that if #10-07 was removed the other birds would leave the ethanol plant and #22-07 would meet and pair with one of the many single males in the population.

Once the decision was made to remove him from the population, he was captured on June 3 and brought to ICF where he was held until being transported to the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, Florida, on Friday, June 5, thanks to Windway Capital Corporation. At ICF in our hospital/quarantine space, he was very calm and showed no fear of people. We did our initial exam in costume but after we put the bird down we noticed 2 dark areas on the sides of his head that would not be possible to examine with a hood over his head, so we elected to do that exam as people out of costume. He was extremely calm when we entered the pen and after we put him down and were leaving. It turns out the dark areas were feathers matted with tar – likely stuck on his feet from the railroad tracks he often stood on at the ethanol plant and then transferred to his head when he scratched his face.

Early on Friday June 5 I loaded him into a crate and took him to the Baraboo airport where we loaded him onto the private plane that would deliver him to his permanent new home.  The flight was smooth and the staff at the zoo let me know that he looked great when they got him unloaded.  The updates continued to be full of good news – he was calm and settled into his quarantine space quite easily.

 Number 22-07, the female companion of #10-07 left the ethanol plant shortly after he was captured and flew to the refuge where she remained for the night. She did return to the ethanol plant the next morning but was easily scared away by the “swamp monster” and once again returned to the refuge.  (Note this was quite a different response than she had exhibited to the swamp monster when she was with #10-07.)  The next day she moved to the northern part of the refuge and began loosely associating with single male #9-05. The second pair, #’s 9 & 17-07, that had been spending time at the ethanol plant also moved to the northern part of the refuge and never returned to the ethanol plant.  Numbers  22-07 and 9-05 are no longer together but she is associating with another male, #12-05 and no birds have been at the ethanol plant since she was last there on June 4.

We’ve been lucky that human avoidance hasn’t been more of a problem with these reintroduced birds.  There are a few other birds who have had occasional problems but none as constant and consistent as #10-07.  While this was a difficult decision for our project, it serves as strong reminder of why it’s important that we maintain our strict protocols and remain vigilant about keeping these birds wild and away from people. 

Number 10-07, now named “Kernel” did well throughout his quarantine period and once released was socialized with “Whoopie” the resident female whooping crane at the Lowry Park Zoo.  After almost a month of living adjacent to Whoopie the zoo staff let him spend time in her yard while observing the two birds and then separated them at the end of the day.  This routine continued for about a week.  Both birds were reportedly very calm and relaxed throughout the socialization period and there was no aggression from either bird.  Eventually the two birds were left together overnight, and when checked early the following morning they were found sleeping about 3 feet apart from each other in the pond.  The new pair continues to do well and can be seen on exhibit at the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, FL where they help educate people about the plight of whooping cranes and the importance of keeping wildlife wild.    

Update by Sara Zimorski, ICF Aviculturist/WCEP Tracking and Winter Management Co-chair.

Kernel and Whoopie. Photo provided by Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa, FL.