Whooping Crane Grus americana Status: Endangered –On the verge of extinction in the 1940s (3) Despite the huge increase of birds over the years, the whooping crane is still in danger of extinction. In the United States, the whooping crane was listed as endangered in 1970, and critical habitat was designated in In Canada, the whooping crane was designated as endangered in (4) s/whoopcrane.htm&h=883&w=914&sz=181&hl=en&start=2&usg=__VXS- nsKma0mmINsIeml6nYvdOi4=&tbnid=wjr99DlpeKp_DM:&tbnh=142&tbnw=147&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwhooping%2Bcrane%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive

Status & Population Population: –total in the wild: 382 individuals only self-sustaining population breeding in Northwest Territories/Alberta, Canada and wintering in Texas, USA numbers 266 individuals –fewer than 250 of which are mature. »precautionary estimate of <250 mature individuals. Only 15 Cranes Survived In 1941 –All of the whooping cranes alive today; both wild and captive; are descendents of the last 15 remaining cranes that were found wintering in Texas in 1941 (4) Population Trend: Increasing sitting_chick.jpg&imgrefurl= 362&w=541&sz=22&hl=en&start=13&usg=__U3av33DYD8fwcM044vYSn40Yh aA=&tbnid=HmG73dTGWQApeM:&tbnh=88&tbnw=132&prev=/images%3Fq%3 Dwhooping%2Bcrane%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive

Geographic Range & Habitat Geographic Range: Canada & the US Habitat: –breeds in prairie wetlands preferring small, shallow lakes and ponds, willow communities, marshes, mudflats –Eggs laid late April to mid-May. –winters in coastal wetlands nviroZine/images/issu e19/cranes_mape.jpg

Threats Over-hunting habitat conversion and human disturbance were the main causes of the decline. collision with powerlines (fledglings) predation by Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos drought is deteriorating breeding habitat Pollution, boat traffic, wave erosion and dredging threaten the Texan wintering grounds the spread of West Nile virus There are also concerns about oil spills river flows in Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.

Conservation Actions Aransas NWR –However, it can only support a maximum of 150 birds through the winter, forcing remaining birds to use disturbed and suboptimal habitat - this is considered to have stabilized the growth of the wild population in recent years Endangered Species Act CITES (Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna & Flora) Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) (2) There is a transnational recovery plan, focusing on increasing the captive population for release, ecological research and monitoring, experimental releases, establishing additional wild populations, and teaching captive-bred birds to migrate Powerline markers have reduced collisions by 40-60%

Works Cited (1) (used for most information, except where noted) (2) (3) crane829.htmlhttp:// crane829.html (4) cranes008.html&template=news_archive_itemhttp:// cranes008.html&template=news_archive_item