FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
February 2, 2007
WCEP NEWS RELEASE
Contact: John Christian, USFWS, 612-810-6955 (cell)
Loss
of Whooping Cranes at Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge
After
Storms Hit
The
Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP) regretfully announces the loss of the
18 juvenile whooping cranes at the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge. The
cranes died as a result of the storms that swept through central
We are in the initial stages of determining the cause of death of the 18 whooping cranes, which comprised the ultralight-led "Class of 2006" and arrived at the Chassahowitzka NWR in mid January. Following standard protocol, WCEP personnel checked on the cranes the evening of February 1. Due to the magnitude of the storm and the location of the pensite, personnel were unable to safely check on the cranes until this afternoon, at which time the birds were discovered dead in their enclosure.
While
this is a setback for the whooping crane reintroduction project, WCEP has faced
challenges in the past and we plan to move forward with our effort to return
this highly imperiled species to its historic range in eastern
"My
heart is aching both for the young birds we lost and for the dedicated people
who devote so much of themselves to this project, only to see the cranes' lives
end in this devastating manner. These
birds were the start of a new generation of life for the species, but we will
recover and continue our work," said John Christian, co-chair of the Whooping
Crane Eastern Partnership. "Our
thoughts also go out to those in central
Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership founding members are the International Crane Foundation, Operation Migration Inc., Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological Survey's Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and National Wildlife Health Center, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin, and the International Whooping Crane Recovery Team.
-WCEP-