Whooping Crane (Grus americana) By: Aaron Sluss

Morphological Characteristics Tall bird- nearly 5 feet Adults white with red patch on crown Long white neck Dark legs, dark pointed bill, and black facial markings. In flight, black wingtips are visible Inner wing feathers droop over the rump, called a" bustle” which distinguishes cranes from herons Sexes alike

Other Characteristics Adults weigh between 12 and 15 pounds Wing span of nearly 8 feet Life Span of yrs (wild) Gets its name from its loud bugle-like trumpeting call ker-loo ker-lee-loo 1.html#8http:// 1.html#8 Heard from 2 miles Long trachea which coils twice Inside the breast bone

Habitat Whoopers use a variety of habitats for different times in the year. Breeding: mixed forest and wetlands Migration: croplands, marshes, and submerged sandbars. Winter: bays and coastal marshes

Feeding Characteristics Wetlands: feed on clams, insects, fish, frogs, crabs, and crayfish Uplands: feed on insects, snails, small rodents, and acorns

Breeding Start pairing on wintering grounds Monogamous Don’t start breeding until 4 or 5 years breed in the large marshes adjacent to the Sass, Klewi, Nyarling and Little Buffalo Rivers each pair establishes a territory of 1.5 square miles.

Nesting Did not know where they nested for years. Usually nest once, but will nest again if nest is destroyed. May even skip a year. Nests can be floating or built up from the bottom of the pond. Nests are usually built of bullrush, sedge or cattail. Clutch size: 2-with one surviving Incubation: 1 month. Duties shared by parents

Recruitment Varies greatly from year to year Low as 12% to highs around 78% Average of about 45 per cent

Factors that affect recruitment the number of pairs actually nesting the number of viable eggs produced weather conditions at time of hatching and during the ensuing weeks habitat conditions (water levels) abundance of food Predators (bobcats) (eagles)

Juveniles Cinnamon and white colored young remain with their parents for the summer Parents feed them larval, or inactive, forms of insects such as dragonflies, damselflies, and also snails, clams, leeches, and small fish. able to fly at about 90 days of age

Migration Usually in groups of less than 10. Make a 2600 mile trip from Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. Starts trip in late September and arrives in mid to late October to mid November Special flying method: uses an energy-efficient combination of spiraling and gliding that allows it to fly nonstop for incredible distances (up to 450 miles).

What Happened to the Whooper? Not that many to begin with. Are susceptible to many factors during migration. (Diseases, weather, and drought) Delayed breeding maturity  Two main factors that caused rapid decline: 1)man-made changes of habitat (esp. wetland losses) 2)hunting, and feather and egg collecting.

Recovery of the Whooper Migratory Bird treaty Act of 1918 Wood Buffalo National Park est. in 1922 In 1937, the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge established.  Listed as a Threatened and Endangered species in 1973.

Recovery Cont.. Captive Breeding Difficult to do because of their sensitivity to humans. (Imprinting) Remove the “extra egg”. Artificial insemination Foster parents

Flocks of the Past VS Today's Estimated that in 1870 there were around birds Went to a low of in 1941 As of in wild and 106 in captivity More pandas than whoopers

What must be done to continue the success Establishment of another migratory flock Support of the Canadian public for the management of whooper nests and eggs Publicity and hunter education  Preservation of wetlands along the cranes’ migration route

Any Questions??