GUEYDAN, La. - For more than sixty years, Louisiana lost one of its most majestic birds, the whooping crane.
Whooping cranes are North America's tallest flying birds, standing about five feet tall. Despite their cultural ties to Louisiana, they remain on the endangered list.
“When you have a bird, with a population of only 80 birds, every bird matters,” Wildlife Biologist Sara Zimorksi said.
Wildlife Biologist Sara Zimorksi with White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area is trying to change that outlook. Zimorksi oversees the state's whooping crane reintroduction project - a program where biologists take on the role of foster parents for young cranes. The biologists have an exciting approach. They dress up in a full white costume and use a plastic decoy beak that resembles a crane to help chicks adapt to their environment before being released into the wild.
“We can raise more chicks into captivity if people do some of that work, but we don’t want some of the crane chicks to improperly imprint and become too comfortable or choose to be around people. So, the costume disguises the fact that we’re a person but lets people do the work of raising the chick and it seems sort of silly or ridiculous, but it’s enough of a disguise that it does work,” Zimorksi said.
Imprinting on humans is not the only challenge biologists are facing. Earlier this year, a juvenile whooping crane was found dead in a pond in Evangeline Parish. The reward for any information on this illegal killing increased to $15k from $5k.
“None or most of the birds that have been shot have not been during hunting season. These are not cases where somebody is hunting and has a mistaken identity, although you can’t mistake a whooping crane for anything, this is just unfortunately criminal activity and it's frustrating, ” she said.
Despite the unconventional method of the white suit, it has proven successful, with now 80 whooping cranes in the state. The state tracks the whereabouts of the whooping cranes by placing transmitters (which are harmless) on their legs.
Biologists and community members work together to protect this endangered species. Landowners in Vermilion Parish are helping with the conservation efforts by offering their shallow-water land so that these birds can spread their wings one more time.
“We are so incredibly grateful, and it can’t be understated. If we didn’t have access or the cooperation of so many private landowners or farmers, we would have so much less information,” she said
Anyone encountering a whooping crane is advised to observe the bird from a distance and to report the sighting to LDWF at https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/report-a-whooping-crane-sighting-or-violation . Whooping cranes are large-bodied, white birds with a red head and black facial markings. They measure a height of five feet and have a seven to eight-foot wingspan, making them very distinctive. In flight, whooping cranes display black wing tips and a fully extended neck and legs extending well beyond the tail.
For more information on the whooping crane project, go to https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/subhome/whooping-crane. To learn how to support the project, go to https://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/page/support-whooping-crane-conservation or http://www.lawff.org/.
Anyone with information about the whooping crane shooting should contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at (985) 882-3756 or the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Lake Charles Office at (337) 491-2588.
------------------------------------------------------------
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
To reach the newsroom or report a typo/correction, click HERE.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox. Select from these options: Breaking News, Evening News Headlines, Latest COVID-19 Headlines, Morning News Headlines, Special Offers
