#whooping cranes

[sitting-on-me-bum]

In Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Texas, whooping  cranes prance alongside American white pelicans at sunrise. The nearly five- foot-tall birds need open spaces like  this salt marsh pond to thrive.

Photographs by Michael Forsberg

[antiqueanimals]

Whooping cranes. These are Endangered; written by Charles Cadieux and illustrated by Bob Hines. 1981.

Internet Archive

[susiestamps]

US 1957 3¢ Wildlife Conservation

[indizombie]

Here is what I learned once I began studying whooping cranes: only a small part of studying them has anything to do with the birds. Instead we counted berries. Counted crabs. Measured water salinity. Stood in the mud. Measured the speed of the wind. It turns out, if you want to save a species, you don’t spend your time staring at the bird you want to save. You look at the things it relies on to live instead. You ask if there is enough to eat and drink. You ask if there is a safe place to sleep. Is there enough here to survive?

CJ Hauser, ‘The Crane Wife’, Paris Review

[rjzimmerman]

Sandhill cranes could be hunted in Wisconsin under a new proposal from GOP state lawmakers. But some wildlife advocates worry such a hunt could put endangered whooping cranes at greater risk.

Wisconsin has gone bat shit fucking crazy. This is insane! First the lizard brains, aka republicans, allow wolves to be slaughtered, sometimes in unethical ways that are illegal in many states, and now they want to kill the sandhill crane. Obviously, this pisses me off. I can only hope that the non-reptilian politicians in Wisconsin will stop this bullshit from happening.

Excerpt from this story from Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR):

Sandhill cranes could be hunted in Wisconsin under a proposal unveiled by Republican state lawmakers on Wednesday.

The measure was part of a package of 13 bills from GOP lawmakers, which also included a renewed plan to authorize so-called "constitutional carry" in the state. Constitutional carry allows anyone over 18 to carry a concealed weapon without a license.

Hunting sandhill cranes has been a subject of discussion among hunters and conservationists for years. Though the birds are not currently on Wisconsin’s endangered and threatened species list, they have struggled in the past with population slumps in the area, particularly in the early 20th century. According to the state Department of Natural Resources, only 15 breeding pairs of the cranes were believed to remain in Wisconsin in the 1930s.

According to an annual survey by the International Crane Foundation, there are about 11,500 sandhill cranes in the state this year, up from about 6,000 in 1985, when the count first covered most of the state.

Speaking at a Capitol press conference on Wednesday morning, Sen. Mary Felzkowski, R-Irma, the sponsor of the bill, argued the crane population has grown enough in the state to justify hunting.

"We’ve done a great job in the state of Wisconsin of protecting (the cranes) and bringing our numbers back up where it’s no longer on the endangered species list," she said. "It’s time now to manage that resource, just as we do with all our other waterfowl and birds."

Some farmers across the state who support crane hunting have raised concerns about the birds destroying crops.

But some wildlife advocates, including the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, say whooping cranes, which are endangered and have a population in Wisconsin, could be mistaken for sandhill cranes by hunters.

[americasgreatoutdoors]

Whooping cranes are the tallest and some of the most rare birds in North America. Adults are mostly white and stand almost five feet tall with a wingspan of seven feet. Never an abundant species, the total population dwindled to a low of 16 birds in 1941 due to hunting pressures and habitat loss. Now there are about 600 in the world. These three adults and one juvenile were spotted at Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in Kansas. Photo by Barry Jones, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

[mayburyphotography]

Remnant

Whooping cranes

2019

Fewer than 1,000 of these birds remain alive. Very grateful for the opportunity to see them. Hoping they make it.

https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-trump-administration-finds-a-new-target-endangered-species

[birdsandbirds]

Whooping Cranes

Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

Port Aransas, TX