Animal Life - Whooping Crane


 Today celebrates one of the tallest and rarest birds in North America.

They are currently endangered, but conservation efforts have improved the populations.

Back in the 1800's, habitat loss and hunting drastically reduced their numbers.  By 1860, there were only 1,400 - but the all time low was just 15 birds in 1941.

They were all from one flock, which migrated between Canada and Texas, so local, federal, and international governments were involved in protecting them.

Scientists realized they couldn't rely on just one flock, so they tried introducing the cranes in Idaho, but that didn't work.  A flock set up in Florida did succeed, but would not migrate.

The International Whooping Crane Recovery Team determined they had to teach the chicks, so they used an ultralight aircraft and led them from Florida to Wisconsin.

In 2002, the first wild Whooping Crane since 1939 was hatched.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vacation Open Thread!

Image
 From Highway 395 overlooking Mono Lake. This year we're driving on past that to check out Mammoth Lakes and Bishop.  A few sites in the area I'd like to see, not to mention the lakes themselves and some hot springs. There's a fire in Yosemite, so we're hoping the winds keep the smoke to the west. I'll be back on the 18th! ❤️
Read more

Science is Fun Fridays!

Image
  Pterosaurs have incredibly lightweight skeletons, so finding one intact is pretty rare. In the Solnhofen Limestones in Germany, paleontologists came across a perfectly preserved hatchling.  And it is tiny, with a wingspan of less than 20 centimeters. "The odds of preserving one are already slim, and finding a fossil that tells you how the animal died is even rarer," reports lead author, Rab Smyth, from the University of Leicester Centre for Paleobiology. The fractures suggest a powerful twisting force, such as a severe storm, that caused catastrophic injuries. It should be noted that several young pterosaur fossils have been found in this area, and now scientists understand why - adults would likely have survived the storm. Here they explain the conditions:
Read more

Venice Film Festival

Image
This week I thought we might check out some fashion along with some background. The festival began in 1932, and includes the Venice Biennale, one of the world's oldest exhibitions of art. The first film to be presented: Helen Hayes was voted best actress, which she followed up with an Oscar. This year: Cate Blanchett, Father Mother Sister Brother Emily Blunt, The Smashing Machine Noomi Rapace, Mother Colman Domingo, Dead Man's Wire Shailene Woodley, Motor City
Read more