Ten days ago, we learned that one of this summer's two wild-hatched Whooping Crane chicks in Wisconsin had died. Now, the second chick appears to have died.
According to the Whooping Crane tracking and monitoring team, the chick, which was hatched from a captive-produced egg, was last observed with its foster parents, 12-02 and 19-04, on their territory in Wood County on July 12. When the family was next checked on July 15, the chick was not found.
The loss of both chicks closes another frustrating breeding season for the leaders of the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership. They watched 12 pairs nest in April and May, only to see all of the nests fail. Several pairs renested, but most were unsuccessful. In the nine years of the project, only one chick has survived to adulthood. --M.M.
Want to leave a comment?
Login or register for an account to join our
online community!
|
|
bradwatson
wrote
re: Second Whooping Crane chick disappears
on
Mon, Aug 3 2009 3:50 PM
was there a related reason for the nest failures this year...or various reasons...if anyone has heard?
|
|
|
Matt Mendenhall
wrote
re: Second Whooping Crane chick disappears
on
Mon, Aug 3 2009 4:11 PM
Biologists with the Necedah refuge and the Crane Foundation studied the nesting cranes closely this year. They have not said yet what their findings are, but I am expecting a report sometime soon. There has been talk of black flies bothering the cranes so much that they abandon their nests, but one biologist I talked to said it was too soon to say if that was the cause.
|