Recently, authorities in Louisiana, USA, are on the hunt for a culprit responsible for the brutal killing of fledgling birds.
In a bid to swiftly apprehend the perpetrator, multiple agencies have offered a $12,500 reward for any information leading to the arrest of the offender.
Reportedly, the fledgling bird found dead in a pond is a Whooping Crane. Its demise was due to gunshot, resulting in spinal fracture and internal bleeding, depicting a heinous act.
Per local laws, the perpetrator may face a fine of $50,000 and up to one year of imprisonment.
However, the gravity of the situation doesn't end there. The offender could undergo public scrutiny and endure a form of "social death" due to the Whooping Crane's status as a "national treasure" in the United States. Being native and critically endangered, it holds the distinction of being the tallest bird in North America.
In 1941, the population dwindled to just 23 (including 2 in captivity). Despite decades of conservation efforts, by 2020, the count barely surpassed 800 individuals.
Various agencies and scientists have spared no effort or expense in the endeavor to revive this species, resorting to methods like egg theft, cosplay, and leading birds via ultralight aircraft.
The Whooping Crane, like the Sandhill Crane, belongs to the Gruidae family of the Gruiformes order. During its heyday, it was quite abundant, ranging widely across the central and western regions of North America, extending southwards into Mexico.
However, with the influx of European immigrants and the impacts of hunting, egg collection, habitat destruction, and loss of nesting sites, the population of Whooping Cranes plummeted rapidly, nearing extinction.
In 1941, the estimated wild population was a mere 21 individuals. Such a tiny number meant that even without hunting pressure, it would have been nearly impossible for the Whooping Crane population to recover on its own.
Therefore, in the early 1960s, the United States initiated efforts to save the Whooping Crane through conservation actions.
The initial efforts began with advocacy and education, led by ornithologist Robert Porter Allen, who campaigned online to raise awareness among the public, especially farmers and hunters, about the need to protect these birds and educate them about the consequences of animal extinction.
After the establishment of the Whooping Crane Conservation Association in the United States, their primary focus was also on promoting knowledge about birds.
Despite these efforts, the situation of the whooping crane did not improve, and they remained critically endangered.
The second phase of protection involved captive breeding programs.
But where did the whooping crane eggs come from? It all started with egg stealing.
Research indicates that wild whooping cranes usually lay two eggs, but they can only raise one chick due to their limitations. The other egg often either perishes on its own or succumbs to bullying from another chick of the same species.
Therefore, scientists believed that taking away one egg from the nest, leaving one behind, wouldn't harm wild reproduction. Instead, it could facilitate artificial rearing, ensuring the survival of the remaining chick. Thus, the egg-stealing plan was devised.
Once the eggs were obtained, hatching them was relatively straightforward. The real challenge lay in raising the whooping crane chicks to adulthood, mimicking the conditions provided by their natural parents.
The sandhill crane, surrogate parents for the whooping cranes
To simulate a natural growth environment, scientists chose sandhill cranes similar to whooping cranes to act as surrogate parents.
Initially, the results were promising. Under the care of sandhill cranes, the whooping crane chicks grew steadily. However, when the breeding season arrived, problems arose.
The whooping cranes raised by sandhill cranes began to identify themselves as sandhill cranes from start to finish. They learned the sandhill cranes' lifestyle, mating rituals, and even shared the same aesthetic preferences. Consequently, they refused to breed with other whooping cranes.
As a result, these whooping cranes became outliers, unable to integrate into the whooping crane population and offering no assistance to the species' breeding efforts. Thus, the project failed.
After much contemplation, scientists decided to play the role of whooping crane mothers themselves, resulting in some peculiar photographs.
The Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
So there's this peculiar creature clad in a white robe, sporting black rubber shoes, that's the whooping crane caretaker. In one hand, he holds a device continuously playing the sounds of whooping cranes, while in the other hand, he wields a lifelike whooping crane head crafted from plastic and cloth.
From the moment a whooping crane hatches, humans in its presence essentially cosplay as its parents. Human parents use their actions to teach it everything from foraging, walking, preening feathers, dancing, calling, and whatever else it needs to learn.
As these brownish chicks grow and morph into white adult birds, they even need to be taught how to fly.
This time, humans utilized ultralight aircraft, with pilots wearing specially crafted costumes resembling Whooping Crane plumage. The wings of the aircraft were also adorned in white. After numerous training sessions, these fledglings learned to follow the aircraft in flight.
Guided by ultralight aircraft, these artificially reared Whooping Cranes completed their first migration in 2009. Having mastered all necessary skills, this signifies their readiness to reintegrate into the wild, marking the initial success of the captive breeding program.
In 1976, wild Whooping Crane numbers stood at a mere 60, with almost one wild Whooping Crane added annually over the intervening years. Now, with the assistance of scientists, the population of Whooping Cranes reaching the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in 2017 had risen to 505.
Unfortunately, due to financial constraints, the conservation project at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center was halted in 2017. Many lamented the loss as the culmination of 51 years of effort was nearly undone. 75 whooping cranes had to be relocated to other zoos or private facilities. The temporary change in their living environment is detrimental to the cranes' growth, undoubtedly slowing down the recovery of the wild population. However, this situation had to be accepted.
As of 2020, after 54 years of effort, there were an estimated 677 whooping cranes surviving in the wild, with 177 being artificially reared and placed in various institutions. With a total of over 800 individuals, the whooping crane population remains critically endangered, albeit in a slightly better condition than before. Currently, the breeding population in the wild remains fragile.
The human-bird mom and the Whooping Crane took a walk together. From just 23 to over 800 now, it's safe to say, it's been a massive investment of money, time, and the blood, sweat, and tears of scientists.
Scientists say, if you put a price tag on it, raising and releasing one Whooping Crane back into the wild costs up to $100,000.
Ironically, nearly 20% of these hard-won Whooping Cranes have been illegally hunted down.
One of the cranes shot at the beginning, returned to the wild in November 2023, only to perish just two months later on January 9 this year.
This has sparked outrage, with many feeling that punishments for such cases in the past have been too lenient, suggesting tougher penalties.
But there are also those who feel the priorities are skewed, arguing that human life is worth more here.
"It's ironic that a bird being shot makes headlines, while people being shot in America don't even make the news!"
