The whooping crane is an endangered species; today there are 437 wild birds and 165 individuals living in captivity. The cause of the catastrophic decline in the population was uncontrolled hunting and violation of the natural habitat.
One population of whooping cranes nests in Canada's Wood Buffalo National Park and migrates to the Texas Gulf Coast for the winter. Another population is sedentary in Louisiana. Today, they are trying to breed whooping cranes on the territory of the Wisconsin State Nature Reserve, in the Great Lakes region. In another Oklahoma state sanctuary, cranes stop for 2 weeks during their migration.
Appearance
The whooping crane grows up to 1.5 meters, its wingspan is 2.1-2.4 meters. Males weigh 7 kilograms, and females are slightly smaller - 6.2 kilograms. The average body length is 1.32 meters. The entire body of whooping cranes is white, only the wings have a black edge. The upper part of the head has no feathers and is colored red. The bird's beak is sharp, dark yellow in color, and there are black mustaches near it, diverging on both sides.
There is no anatomical difference between male and female individuals. Young animals have red plumage, which gradually becomes white with age. Young birds do not have a red spot on the top of their heads, and the wings have a dark gray tint.
Reproduction and lifespan
Whooping cranes form monogamous pairs for life. Nesting occurs in sparse colonies; the distance between nests is several kilometers.
Birds build nests in shallow water on water meadows or small lakes. Nests are built from sedge, marsh grass and reeds; cranes use this building material to build a small hill, in the center of which they make a hole for laying.
Listen to the voice of a whooping crane
Females lay 1-2 eggs in the month of May. First, one egg is laid, and after 2 days the second one is laid. The incubation period lasts for a month. Both the female and the male incubate the eggs.
Only one cub always remains alive, as the chicks behave hostilely towards each other. After 3 months, the chicks begin to fly. By the age of three to four years, whooping cranes reach sexual maturity. Life expectancy in the wild is 23-25 years.
Food and enemies
Whooping cranes feed in fields and shallow waters. Birds prefer animal food: fish, shellfish, crustaceans, rodents, frogs, eggs, chicks and small birds. But in addition to this, the diet also includes plant foods: grains, tubers, berries.
During the migration, important foods for cranes are corn, wheat and barley.
Whooping cranes are hunted by black, gray, and even red bears. The population is also damaged by a bird of prey, the bald eagle.
Saving a view
Experts say that before Europeans appeared on the mainland, the number of whooping cranes was 15 thousand individuals, and by 1870 the figure had dropped to 1,400 individuals. In 1940, the situation was catastrophic - there were only 15 whooping cranes. If it were not for the remote swamps, where people could not reach, the population would have been completely exterminated.
Today, a lot of efforts are being made to increase the number of whooping cranes. Great hopes are placed on a national park in Wisconsin where birds are bred in captivity. In winter, the birds fly to Florida, following a special trike, which the birds perceive as the leader of the flock.
Description
A large bird with a height of about 150 cm and a wingspan of 210-240 cm. Males are slightly larger than females, their weight averages 7.3 kg, while females weigh 6.4 kg. The plumage is completely snow-white, with the exception of the black tips of the primary flight feathers on the wings and the black whiskers radiating on either side of the beak. The flight feathers of the third order are noticeably elongated and fall behind in the form of a train. There are no feathers on the top of the head, the skin in this place is dark red. The cornea of the eyes is golden yellow. The beak is yellowish, sometimes at the end it has a dull green tint. Legs are black. Sexual dimorphism (visible differences between males and females) is not pronounced. Young cranes are noticeably different from adult birds - their body is completely covered with feathers, including their head. The plumage, with the exception of the flight wings, is white with numerous rufous spots, which gradually decrease with age and then disappear. The flight feathers of young birds are dark gray. The eye color of the chicks is blue.
Spreading
Whooping cranes are now critically endangered and their population is limited to a very small area of North America. The remaining birds nest in the area of Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada's Northwest Territories, where they were accidentally discovered in 1954 by a ranger and a helicopter pilot, and in the winter they migrate to the Gulf Coast in the Aransas Reserve in the US state of Texas.
However, numerous fossil finds indicate that whooping cranes were widespread in North America several million years ago during the Pleistocene, with a range extending from central Canada in the north to Mexico in the south and from Utah in the west to the Atlantic Coast in the east . A sharp decline in the number of whooping cranes occurred in the second half of the 19th century, which is associated with human economic activity and uncontrolled hunting. As a result, the number of birds decreased to only 10-12 pairs, which were discovered in 1954 in a remote area.
With the exception of a small group of birds leading a sedentary lifestyle in southwestern Louisiana, the nesting sites of whooping cranes were displaced from the United States at the end of the 19th century. The remaining Louisiana population disappeared completely by the mid-20th century, with the last remaining birds being removed for captivity in 1950.
Lifestyle
Previously, the whooping crane lived in a fairly wide range of different biotopes. Until a sharp population decline, it nested primarily in the tall grass prairies of the northern Midwest and aspen thickets in eastern Canada. However, its nests could be found in the completely distinct taiga and subarctic Northwest Territories of Canada, as well as on the marshy Gulf Coast of the southeastern United States. Although a common feature of the winter sites of all these ecosystems was the presence of wetlands, their character varied considerably from the marshes in the mountainous terrain of Mexico to the Atlantic coast of Texas and South Carolina. In addition, migrating populations had a fairly large number of diverse routes to their winter stopover sites.
Nutrition
Whooping cranes are omnivores - they feed on both plant and animal foods. During the breeding season, their main diet consists of molluscs, crustaceans, insects, small freshwater fish, frogs and snakes. During winter migration they feed in various conditions: on arable land sown with corn, wheat or sorghum; in the middle of large and small swamps, along the banks of lakes and reservoirs, on river shallows.
Reproduction
Like other species of cranes, a successful couple celebrates their union with a joint characteristic singing, which is a series of complex drawn-out melodic sounds. When singing, cranes take a vertical position, usually throwing their heads back so that the beak is directed vertically upward. In whooping cranes, the female initiates the song, producing two high-pitched sounds in response to each single lower sound from the male. In this case, the male spreads his wings while the female keeps them folded. During courtship, cranes dance, which can be expressed in jumping, running, tossing tufts of grass or sticks and flapping their wings. The nesting territory can vary quite significantly and ranges from 1.3 to 47.1 km².
The nest is built directly in water with a depth of 14-28 cm in shallow water, in the middle of small lakes or in water meadows and is a well-compacted pile of reeds, sedges or other marsh grass with a small depression at the top. There are always areas with water around the nest that are difficult to reach for land predators. Egg laying occurs in May, the female usually lays 2 eggs (in less than 10% of cases 1 egg) measuring 10.8x6 cm and weighing about 207 g with a break of 2-3 days. The incubation period lasts 29-30 days. Both parents incubate, but the female spends most of her time in the nest. As a rule, only one chick survives before winter migration, as competition for survival begins between the two chicks, ending with the death of one of them. Whooping cranes begin to fly in 80-90 days. Sexual maturity of young birds occurs after 4-5 years.
Threats and security
The main reasons for the sharp decline in the number of whooping cranes are said to be a decrease in the area of land suitable for these birds to live in, as well as environmental pollution. In addition, destructive factors include oil production near the Aransas Reserve, disruption of the natural freshwater circulation system, increased tourism, injuries from collisions with power lines, illegal hunting of these birds, avian tuberculosis and poor genetic biodiversity due to the small number of surviving birds.
Since the early 1970s, with the formation of the International Crane Fund and subsequent restoration programs, the situation has slowly begun to change for the better. Projects have been established at the foundation's nursery in Wisconsin to artificially breed these and other rare species of cranes and then introduce them into the wild. Currently, these programs are bearing fruit - the number of birds has increased to 400 individuals.
The whooping crane is on the verge of extinction. Today, 437 individuals live in the wild, and 165 birds are kept in captivity. The catastrophic decline in numbers occurred due to habitat loss and uncontrolled hunting. One of the populations nests in Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada. In winter, it migrates to Texas on the Gulf Coast. Another population lives in Louisiana. These birds lead a sedentary lifestyle. Currently, they are trying to breed the birds in a national wildlife refuge in the state of Wisconsin. This is the Great Lakes region. The Oklahoma National Wildlife Refuge is where the birds stop for a couple of weeks during their migration south.
The bird reaches 1.5 meters in height. The wingspan is 2.1-2.4 meters. Males weigh around 7 kg, and the weight of females does not exceed 6.2 kg. The average body length is 1.32 meters. The main color of the plumage is white. The front wings have a black edge. The beak is dark yellow and sharp. Near the beak there are so-called black mustaches, which diverge in different directions. On the top of the head, the skin is not protected by feathers and is red in color. The legs are dark, almost black. There is no sexual dimorphism. Young birds have red plumage. With age, it gradually turns white. There is no red spot on the top of the head. The flight feathers have a dark gray tint.
Reproduction and lifespan
Pairs are monogamous and are created for life. Birds nest in sparse colonies. The distance between nests is usually several kilometers. The nest is built in shallow water. For this purpose, small lakes or water meadows are selected. Birds rake marsh grass, sedge, and reeds into a heap and form a small hill with a depression at the top for the masonry. The female lays no more than 2 eggs in the month of May. First, 1 egg, and after 2 days another. After this, the incubation period begins, which lasts a month.
Both male and female incubate. Of the 2 chicks, only one survives. The second dies because the chicks behave aggressively towards each other. The young begin to fly 3 months after birth. Sexual maturity in these birds occurs at the age of 3-4 years. The whooping crane lives in the wild for 23-25 years.
Food and enemies
The bird feeds in shallow water and in the field. Prefers animal foods to plant foods. Eats fish, crustaceans, mollusks, frogs, rodents, small birds, chicks and eggs. Eats aquatic plants, berries, tubers, grains. Wheat, corn, and barley are important products for birds during migration. Various predators cause great damage to these birds. These include the gray wolf, wolverine, black bear, and red fox. Even alligators attack whooping cranes. Among the birds of prey we can name the bald eagle.
Saving a view
According to experts, before the appearance of Europeans on the mainland, the number of the species was 15 thousand individuals. By 1870 there were only 1,400 birds. In 1940, there were only 15 of them. The birds were saved from complete destruction by remote swampy places where people could not reach. Currently, everything is being done to increase the number of the species.
Much attention is paid to the national wildlife refuge in Wisconsin. Birds bred in captivity are released onto its territory. During the winter, they migrate to Florida, following a trike. Birds perceive him as the leader of the flock. For killing a rare and beautiful bird, the culprit is given a suspended sentence and a fine of $100,000. Let's hope that all these measures will give a positive result, and the number of the species will increase over time.
| Taxonomy on Wikispecies | Images on Wikimedia Commons |
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Description
A large bird with a height of about 150 cm and a wingspan of 210-240 cm. Males are slightly larger than females, their weight averages 7.3 kg, while females weigh 6.4 kg. The plumage is completely snow-white, with the exception of the black tips of the primary flight feathers on the wings and the black whiskers radiating on either side of the beak. The flight feathers of the third order are noticeably elongated and fall behind in the form of a train. There are no feathers on the top of the head, the skin in this place is dark red. The cornea of the eyes is golden yellow. The beak is yellowish, sometimes at the end it has a dull green tint. Legs are black. Sexual dimorphism (visible differences between males and females) is not pronounced. Young cranes are noticeably different from adult birds - their body is completely covered with feathers, including their head. The plumage, with the exception of the flight wings, is white with numerous rufous spots, which gradually decrease with age and then disappear. The flight feathers of young birds are dark gray. The eye color of the chicks is blue.
Spreading
Whooping cranes are now critically endangered and their population is limited to a very small area of North America. The remaining birds nest in the area of Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada's Northwest Territories, where they were accidentally discovered in 1954 by a ranger and a helicopter pilot, and in winter they migrate to the Gulf Coast in the Aransas Reserve in the US state of Texas.
However, numerous fossil finds indicate that whooping cranes were widespread in North America several million years ago during the Pleistocene, with a range extending from central Canada in the north to Mexico in the south and from Utah in the west to the Atlantic Coast in the east . A sharp decline in the number of whooping cranes occurred in the second half of the 19th century, which is associated with human economic activity and uncontrolled hunting. As a result, the number of birds decreased to only 10-12 pairs, which were discovered in 1954 in a remote area.
With the exception of a small group of birds leading a sedentary lifestyle in southwestern Louisiana, the nesting sites of whooping cranes were displaced from the United States at the end of the 19th century. The remaining Louisiana population disappeared completely by the mid-20th century, with the last remaining birds being removed for captivity in 1950.
Lifestyle
Previously, the whooping crane lived in a fairly wide range of different biotopes. Until its population collapse, it nested primarily in the tallgrass prairies of the upper Midwest and aspen thickets in eastern Canada. However, its nests could be found in the completely distinct taiga and subarctic Northwest Territories of Canada, as well as on the marshy Gulf Coast of the southeastern United States. Although a common feature of the winter sites of all these ecosystems was the presence of wetlands, their character varied significantly from the marshes in the mountainous terrain of Mexico to the Atlantic coast of Texas and South Carolina. In addition, migrating populations had a fairly large number of diverse routes to their winter stopover sites.
Nutrition
Whooping cranes are omnivores - they feed on both plant and animal foods. During the breeding season, their main diet consists of molluscs, crustaceans, insects, small freshwater fish, frogs and snakes. During winter migration they feed in various conditions: on arable land sown with corn, wheat or sorghum; in the middle of large and small swamps, along the banks of lakes and reservoirs, on river shallows.
Reproduction
Juvenile Whooping Crane
Like other species of cranes, a successful couple celebrates their union with a joint characteristic singing, which is a series of complex drawn-out melodic sounds. When singing, cranes take a vertical position, usually throwing their heads back so that the beak is directed vertically upward. In whooping cranes, the female initiates the song, producing two high-pitched sounds in response to each single lower sound from the male. In this case, the male spreads his wings while the female keeps them folded. During courtship, cranes dance, which can be expressed in jumping, running, tossing tufts of grass or sticks and flapping their wings. The nesting territory can vary quite significantly and ranges from 1.3 to 47.1 km².
The nest is built directly in water with a depth of 14-28 cm in shallow water, in the middle of small lakes or in water meadows and is a well-compacted pile of reeds, sedges or other marsh grass with a small depression at the top. There are always areas with water around the nest that are difficult to reach for land predators. Egg laying occurs in May, the female usually lays 2 eggs (in less than 10% of cases 1 egg) measuring 10.8x6 cm and weighing about 207 g with a break of 2-3 days. The incubation period lasts 29-30 days. Both parents incubate, but the female spends most of her time in the nest. As a rule, only one chick survives before winter migration, as competition for survival begins between the two chicks, ending with the death of one of them. Whooping cranes begin to fly in 80-90 days. Sexual maturity of young birds occurs after 4-5 years.
Threats and security
The main reasons for the sharp decline in the number of whooping cranes are said to be a decrease in the area of land suitable for these birds to live in, as well as environmental pollution. In addition, destructive factors include oil production near the Aransas Reserve, disruption of the natural freshwater circulation system, increased tourism, injuries from collisions with power lines, illegal hunting of these birds, avian tuberculosis and poor genetic biodiversity due to the small number of surviving birds.
Since the early 1970s, with the formation of the International Crane Fund and subsequent restoration programs, the situation has slowly begun to change for the better. Projects have been established at the foundation's nursery in Wisconsin to artificially breed these and other rare species of cranes and then introduce them into the wild. Currently, these programs are bearing fruit - the number of birds has increased to 400 individuals.
Almost touching the treetops, a small red plane circles over the swamps and forests of Canada's Wood Buffalo National Park. Pilot Jim Brady leans into the controls for the next turn, while his two passengers, Tom Steen of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Lee Craig-Moore of the Canadian Department of Conservation, lean against the windows, trying to see the white spots below. For a small international team, these white spots mean birds one and a half meters tall, which are dancing somewhere down there, jumping funny on long legs, and flapping their powerful wings, attracting the attention of females. And then, raising their beaks to the sky, they fill with cries the reserve, which has become a summer haven for a flock of the rarest cranes on earth. For the last pack.
By 1940, when a massive hurricane killed an entire flock in Louisiana, only about two dozen whooping cranes remained in the world.
Thanks in large part to its striking beauty, the whooping crane, the rarest of the world's 15 crane species, has become a global symbol of endangered species. But once upon a time, numerous flocks of these birds inhabited the entire North American continent. But from the middle of the 19th century, their number began to decline rapidly: crowds of Europeans arriving on the continent in search of a better life barbarously hunted cranes and drained the swamps - their habitat. As a result, in 1940, when an entire flock died in Louisiana due to a strong hurricane, only about two dozen whooping cranes remained in the world.
Scientists could not even help the last flock, because they did not know where it nested and spent the summer. Biologists asked anyone who found nesting sites to report it, volunteers combed the area along the birds' migration route - but all efforts remained fruitless for a long time. It was only in the summer of 1954 that a firefighting helicopter accidentally discovered a nesting site while flying over an inaccessible wetland on the northern plains of Canada.
Fortunately, the flock of cranes settled right in Wood Buffalo, the largest national park in North America. The last flock was saved by the inaccessibility of this 44.8 thousand square kilometer area of wilderness, where the birds were threatened only by natural predators - wolves, bears, foxes and crows stealing eggs from bird nests. However, ten years after the nesting sites were discovered, a man also stole one of the eggs from the cranes - thus taking a decisive step to save these birds.
A thief with good intentions.
Then, 42 years ago, Conservation Canada biologist Ernie Kuyt boarded a helicopter that took him to the northern wetlands. With the help of a pine pole, Ernie began to make his way through the difficult swamp, in which he almost lost his boots, and at the same time his determination. But finally, in the very center of a shallow pond, he discovered a large nest, and in it - a pair of spotted eggs, each the size of a pear. Kuyt had forgotten the container in the helicopter, so he carefully placed one of the eggs in a woolen sock and carried it carefully, feeling the fragile life glowing inside.
Thanks to Kuyt's catch, scientists were able to begin breeding wild birds in captivity. Today, this program plays a key role in saving endangered species and, in particular, has brought the total number of whooping cranes, including those in captivity, to more than 500 individuals. Some of the bred birds have already been returned to their natural environment, thanks to which the flock living in the wild has grown in number: there are now 263 birds in it.
The little red plane turns west and Lee Craig-Moore is excited to spot another nesting site. The whooping crane count team logged a total of 59 hours in the air over the course of several months and finished the season with a strong record of 62 nests, 52 hatchlings and 22 fledged chicks across an area of 259 square kilometers.
One crane family occupies an area of about five square kilometers. She builds a nest on the water and raises one, rarely two chicks on a diet consisting of aquatic larvae, seeds, snails and fish.
For crane advocates to feel at ease, the current population must increase at least fivefold.
Unfortunately, cozy Wood Buffalo is not the only place of residence for whooping cranes: with the arrival of October, the birds begin to prepare for an ancient ritual - a multi-day journey to Texas. Walking with an important air on the marshy ground, the yellow-eyed head of the family turns his head, closely studying the sky and waiting for the right weather - hot currents of air that will lift his family up. And with the onset of dusk, the crane stretches its long body forward, giving a signal. The female and the chick repeat this movement, and now the entire venerable family soars upward with perfect synchronicity - without even realizing how risky the journey lies ahead of them.
So, in the spring of 2008, 266 whooping cranes lived in the wild - but almost every fourth of them died by the next spring. Of the 57 dead birds, 23 died on their wintering grounds in South Texas, where drought had destroyed their staple food, blue crabs and a plant with the amusing name of baitfish. Others may have been killed during migration by brushing against power lines, a major enemy of migratory birds. In addition, swamps along their migration route have been drained, while oil development in Alberta and wind farm plans are leaving fewer nesting sites. In addition, the energy of wind turbines will be transmitted by dozens of new deadly power lines.
For crane advocates to feel at ease, the current population must increase at least fivefold. But veterans of the movement are still full of optimism. Conservation Canada biologist Brian Jones says, “If we continue to protect the cranes' habitat, they may no longer need our help in a couple of decades. And we can finally leave them alone with nature.”
The whooping crane (lat. Grus americana) is a large bird with a height of about 150 cm and a wingspan of 210-240 cm. Males are slightly larger than females, their weight averages 7.3 kg, while females weigh 6.4 kg. The plumage is completely snow-white, with the exception of the black tips of the primary flight feathers on the wings and the black whiskers radiating on either side of the beak. The flight feathers of the third order are noticeably elongated and fall behind in the form of a train. There are no feathers on the top of the head, the skin in this place is dark red. The cornea of the eyes is golden yellow. The beak is yellowish, sometimes at the end it has a dull green tint. Legs are black. Sexual dimorphism (visible differences between males and females) is not pronounced. Young cranes are noticeably different from adult birds - their body is completely covered with feathers, including their heads. The plumage, with the exception of the flight wings, is white with numerous rufous spots, which gradually decrease with age and then disappear. The flight feathers of young birds are dark gray. The eye color of the chicks is blue.
Whooping cranes are omnivores - they eat both plant and animal foods. During the breeding season, their main diet consists of mollusks, crustaceans, insects, small freshwater fish, frogs and snakes. During winter migration they feed in various conditions: on arable land sown with corn, wheat or sorghum; in the middle of large and small swamps, along the banks of lakes and reservoirs, on river shallows.
Like other species of cranes, a successful couple celebrates their union with a joint characteristic singing, which is a series of complex drawn-out melodic sounds. When singing, cranes take a vertical position, usually throwing their heads back so that the beak is directed vertically upward. In whooping cranes, the female initiates the song, producing two high-pitched sounds in response to each single lower sound from the male. In this case, the male spreads his wings while the female keeps them folded. During courtship, cranes dance, which can be expressed in jumping, running, tossing tufts of grass or sticks and flapping their wings. The nesting territory can vary quite significantly and ranges from 1.3 to 47.1 km².
The nest is built directly in water with a depth of 14-28 cm in shallow water, in the middle of small lakes or in water meadows and is a well-compacted pile of reeds, sedge or other marsh grass with a small depression at the top. There are always areas with water around the nest that are difficult to reach for land predators. Egg laying occurs in May, the female usually lays 2 eggs (in less than 10% of cases 1 egg) measuring 10.8x6 cm and weighing about 207 g with a break of 2-3 days. The incubation period lasts 29-30 days. Both parents incubate, but the female spends most of her time in the nest. As a rule, only one chick survives before winter migration, as competition for survival begins between the two chicks, ending with the death of one of them. Whooping cranes begin to fly in 80-90 days. Sexual maturity of young birds occurs after 4-5 years.
Scientific classification:
Kingdom: Animals
Type: Chordates
Class: Birds
Squad: Crane-like
Family: Real cranes
Genus: Cranes
View: Whooping crane (lat. Grus americana)