Courtesy of LDWF
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries reported the state’s whooping crane recovery effort saw 10 fledged chicks. That means the chicks are fully grown, capable of flight and able to fend for themselves. It brings the state’s total population to 84. LDWF Biologist Sara Zimorski said it was a historic nesting season.
“Not just is it a record for Louisiana, it’s a new record for any previous or ongoing whooping crane reintroduction, so we’re really excited about the success that the birds had this year,” Zimorski said.
Louisiana’s whooping crane reintroduction project began in 2011. 18 of the 20 total pairs that nested were able to hatch chicks this spring, the largest percentage in the project’s history. Zimorski said there could be several factors contributing to the successful season, but one is that the birds are more experienced.
“We had one pair this year who fledged their fourth chick in four years, so they’ve been successful each year for the past four years,” she said. “They seem to be locked in and have it figured out.”
Whooping cranes are large white birds with a red head and black facial markings that can grow up to five feet tall. They are a federally endangered species that was once native to the state but had not lived in the Louisiana wilderness since 1950 before the project began. Zimorski said LDWF has a history of restoring endangered native species in Louisiana.
“Brown pelican, bald eagle, even the alligator are some of the species that at one point were more threatened and endangered, and those have all had great comebacks,” Zimorski said. “We hope that the whooping crane will be one of the next ones.”
Zimorski said if you see a whooping crane, observe it from a distance and report where you saw it to the Whooping Crane Reporting Form on the LDWF website.
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