Tag: levin

First Wild Whooper Hatch in Midwest

For the first time in 100 years in the Midwest, whooping
crane chicks have hatched in the wild. But wildlife agencies say the
young birds may be especially vulnerable to predators. The GLRC’S
Chuck Quirmbach reports:

Transcript

For the first time in 100 years in the Midwest, whooping crane chicks have hatched in the
wild. But wildlife agencies say the young birds may be especially vulnerable to predators.
The GLRC’S Chuck Quirmbach reports:


Government and private wildlife agencies have been working for several years to re-
establish a migrating flock of whooping cranes in the Eastern U.S. This spring, two
crane eggs taken from the wild birds hatched in captivity, and now two more eggs have
hatched in the wild, at the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin. But Rachel
Levin of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says being in the wild means potential
predators:


“These crane chicks will be with their parents and will be vulnerable to raccoons and
other types of predators that might be on the refuge.”


Levin says it’s possible the managers at Necedah will trap some raccoons. By the end of
the summer, the crane chicks will get their flight feathers and should be able to more
easily get away from dangers on the ground.


For the GLRC, I’m Chuck Quirmbach

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Experts Hopeful for Whooper Eggs

Dozens of whooping cranes are heading north this spring, as an experiment continues to develop a migrating flock of the birds in the Eastern U.S. Wildlife experts hope this’ll be the year the effort will produce its first successful hatch of a crane egg. The GLRC’s Chuck Quirmbach reports:

Transcript

Dozens of whooping cranes are heading north this spring, as an
experiment continues to develop a migrating flock of the birds in the
Eastern U.S. Wildlife experts hope this’ll be the year the effort will
produce its first successful hatch of a crane egg. The GLRC’s Chuck
Quirmbach reports:

About sixty of the endangered whooping cranes migrate between the
southeastern U.S. and northern states like Wisconsin and Michigan.
Last summer, for the first time, a few cranes paired off and produced
eggs, but the cranes didn’t stay near their nests and predators destroyed
the eggs.


Rachel Levin of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says this year she’s
more optimistic the cranes will reproduce.


“We have cranes this year that are going to be five years old. Whooping
cranes reach sexual maturity between three and five years old. So, we
are hoping this year that we have cranes that will produce eggs and that are
maybe mature enough this year to stay with those eggs and do their
parental duty.”


One goal of the crane reintroduction project has been to have 25 adult
breeding pairs. For now the project will continue to add to the flock by
bringing in crane chicks from Maryland.


For the GLRC, I’m Chuck Quirmbach.

Related Links

National Environmental Scorecard

Each year, the League of Conservation Voters ranks members of Congress on their environmental voting record. It publishes those findings in a report called the National Environmental Scorecard. Today (Tuesday), the group released its 1998 Scorecard. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s David Hammond reports: