Access to the rare and endangered Whooping Crane chicks that are raised each year at the International Crane Foundation (ICF) in Baraboo, WI is granted only to trained ICF staff wearing crane costumes – until now. This chick season ICF is sharing this experience with the world through our live web cam!
I couldn’t believe what I was looking at. A painted bunting in Chicago? In January?! These birds belong in the humid swamps of the Gulf Coast, not the frigid streets of the Windy City. Yet there could be no doubt of what I was looking at, as this painted bunting was lying dead in a tray at the Field Museum among 140 other species of birds that have been collected as window kill below the skyscrapers and apartment buildings of Chicago.
ICF is saddened to report on the fatal shooting of a Whooping Crane in South Dakota. The migrating adult crane was from the Aransas/Wood Buffalo population and was traveling with two Whooping Cranes when it was shot with a rifle while standing in a corn field. Law enforcement officers with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) and the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks are investigating the shooting which took place on April 20, 2012.
In early February 2012 Wisconsin State Representative Joel Kleefisch introduced a bill proposing a regulated Sandhill Crane hunt in the state. The following update summarizes ICF’s role in the ongoing discussion of this issue.
Our Position: The International Crane Foundation does not endorse or oppose Sandhill Crane hunting in North America. We recognize the role of regulated hunting in current wildlife population management practices, and the importance of hunting traditions to communities, not just on this continent, but globally. We maintain three strong positions relative to crane hunting.
Read more..
As a pair of Whooping Cranes remains in North Carolina’s Clay County, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service urges spectators to maintain their distance in order to not spook the cranes and reduce their familiarity with humans.
“These cranes are among the rarest animals on the planet. In our efforts to recover this species, I can’t stress enough how important it is for people to give the birds the space they need to feel comfortable and go peacefully about their daily lives of finding food, water, shelter, and developing the bond that will lead to successful nesting in the spring,” said Bill Brooks, a biologist with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
Read more..