Authorities in Indiana are investigating the shooting death of an endangered female whooping crane that produced the only chick hatched in the wild in the eastern United States since birds were reintroduced in 2001.
The shooting took place between Nov. 28 and Dec. 1, when a tracker from the International Crane Foundation discovered the dead crane near the Illinois border in Vermillion County.
There are 105 birds living in the eastern U.S., with most of the cranes spending the spring, summer and fall in or near the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin.
This is the third shooting of a whooping crane in the eastern U.S. since 2001.
The loss of the 7-year-old female is especially troubling, experts say, because she and her partner have hatched three chicks in the wild - the most of any pair in the eastern flock.
Two of their chicks were killed by predators before they could fly. The third, born in 2006, was the first hatched in the wild.
"Anytime you lose a bird, it's always tragic," said Joan Garland of the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo. "But in this case it's doubly so."
Biologists are trying to determine why cranes have had trouble reproducing in the eastern U.S. A separate, larger wild flock flies between Texas and northern Canada.
Some possibilities for the troubles in the east: Black flies are harassing parents while nesting, some adults are inattentive parents, and some birds might not be getting suitable nutrition.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a reward of at least $2,500 to people who provide information leading to a conviction in the case.
There are about 500 whooping cranes in the world.
source....
No comments:
Post a Comment