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    • Claudia Fonkert, Macalester College

    May 1, 1997

    Each spring the entire flock of wild whooping cranes takes the annual 2,500 mile journey from their wintering grounds on the Texas Gulf Coast to their nesting grounds in northern Canada. These wild cranes were on the brink of extinction in the 1940's, and only 159 are alive today.

    The spring migration is now underway. Here are sightings recently reported from points along their migratory path:

    Whooping Crane Sightings
    Reported April 25-May 1, 1997

    Date State/Province Location # Cranes
    4/24/97 TEXAS Wintering Grounds, Aransas National Wildlife Refuge 13 Juveniles
    4/20-24/97 SOUTH DAKOTA Hughes County, SD.
    7 mi. south of Harrold.    		 4 adults
    4/19/97 NORTH DAKOTA Stutsman County, ND.
    1 mi. west of Pingree.    		 1 juvenile.
    4/25/97 NORTH DAKOTA Burke County, ND.
    4 mi. north and 4 east of Battleview    		 1 adult
    4/27/97 NORTH DAKOTA Divide County, ND
    12 mi. south and 3 east of Noonan    		 1 adult