Eastern
Flock
Losses
By Hatch Year*
As of May 13, 2013.
Data Courtesy WCEP.
| Hatch
Year 2012 |
Crane #6-12 was killed by a bobcat at Florida's St. Marks NWR during her first winter. DAR #12-12 died on his Florida wintering grounds likely in late December 1012 or January 2013; he had been reported wiht a possible leg injury on Dec. 28, 2012. DAR #17-12 died on her Florida wintering grounds likely in late December 1012 or January 2013. |
| Hatch
Year 2011 |
Crane #13-11, missing since fall migation 2011, is considered dead and was removed May 1, 2013 from the population total of the eastern flock. Crane #9-11's carcass was discovered next to a road and some powerlines in Polk County, Wisconsin, on July 6, 2012. |
| Hatch
Year 2010 |
Crane #9-10 died on her summering territory in Adams County, Wisconsin on approximately April 19 ,2013. Her carcass was collected there on April 25, 2013, and the remains were sent to the USGS National Wildlife Health Center in Madison for necropsy. DAR #21-10 died on his wintering territory at Hiwassee WR in Tennessee, likely on February 2, 2013, according to tracking data. Cause unknown. Crane #6-10 returned to Wisconsin in spring 2012 but her remains were found during an aerial survey over Necedah NWR on June 13, 2012. Crane #15-10's remains were found August 18, 2011 in Juneau County, Wisconsin. Information provided by the landowner indicates that #15-10 died approximately August 8. DAR #22-10 went missing in early February 2011 after the shooting death of another crane in her wintering group and was discovered dead near the Georgia/Alabama border in mid-February. Officials believe the two deaths are related and a large reward is offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) who killed these birds. DAR #20-10 , DAR #24-10 and DAR #28-10 were shot in December 2010 near Albany,Georgia under suspicious circumstances that are being investigated by authorities. Hunters discovered and reported the three dead cranes on Dec. 30, 2010. The birds had arrived in the area with two other DAR flock mates several days prior to their shooting. A reward is offered for information leading to the arrest of the shooters: Contact U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Terry Hasting at 404-763-7959 (ext. 233). DAR #18-10 was killed by a predator on October 30, 2010 on Necedah NWR, just five days after the DAR cranes were released among older cranes before migration. Chick
#2-10 was removed from the ultralight-led Class of 2010 during
the second half of migration due to wing/flight problems. |
| Hatch
Year 2009 |
Crane 37-09 (DAR) was found dead on her summer territory in Juneau County, Wisconsin, and her remains collected on May 12, 2013. Tracker Eva Szyszkoski estimates she died between late May 8 and early May 9, based on tracking records. Crane #9-11's carcass was discovered in Polk County, Wisconsin, on July 6, 2012. Crane #913 was presumed dead and removed from the population total in February 2012 after being missing for over a year. Crane #927 was presumed after not being detected for over a year. He was removed from the official population in spring 2011. Crane #901 died (likely in late Novembe) on Necedah NWR. Remains were found on Dec. 1, 2010 but cause and date of death have not yet been determined. Crane 40-09 (DAR) was euthanized on August 16, 2010 due to a severely dislocated left hip that caused her much pain and was not healing. She had been reported with an injured left leg in the Mill Bluff area near Necedah NWR on August 1. She was captured and transported to Necedah NWR for care and treatment at Necedah NWR, but she suffered and did not get better. Crane 903 was killed in March of 2010 on Chassahowitzka ("Chass") National Wildlife Refuge, likely by a bobcat. |
| Hatch
Year 2008 |
Crane #813 (13-08), was presumed dead and removed from the population total after being missing since April 2011. Crane #827 (27-08), was shot and killed in Indiana in early January 2012. Crane #830 (or 30-08) was found on her wintering territory in Indiana with a severely injured leg on January 31. She was captured and taken to the Indianapolis Zoo, where she was euthanized. Crane #31-08 (DAR), was discovered with his mate (27-05 DAR), on their breeding territory in Juneau County Forest, Wisconsin on July 7, 2011, both of them dead. A necropsy is being performed on the remains. Crane #805 (5-08), last seen Dec. 10, 2009 in Wisconsin, was presumed dead and counted out of the flock total in Dec. 2010. Crane #812 (12-08), last seen Dec. 10, 2009 in Wisconsin, was presumed dead and counted out of the flock total in Dec. 2010. DAR Crane #36-08, last detected Dec. 11, 2009 in Tennessee, was presumed dead and counted out of the flock total in Dec. 2010. Crane #818 was killed by a predator on Necedah NWR soon after return from spring migration. Crane 819 was killed in September of 2009 on Necedah National Wildlife Refuge, likely by coyotes (many coyote footprints in the area). Crane #10-08 (formerly #810) was no longer considered alive in the Eastern flock population totals as of May, 2009, although his death was never confirmed or substantiated by additional evidence. Crane 803 was found dead April 28, 2009, by ICF tracker Eva in Wood County, Wisconsin, likely killed by a bobcat within the previous 24 hours. DAR #37-08 was killed by an alligator in Florida in April 2009. Her remains were discovered during an aerial survey of Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park on April 15. She had last been seen alive during a similar survey April 7. The leg with the PTT was traced and recovered on April 16, in an alligator 165 miles away from the kill site. Crane 826 died April 8, 2009, from a leg injury suffered on his first migration north. He was rescued by a landowner and taken for medical help but did not survive. DAR #32-08 was found dead by a local resident near East Bristol in Columbia County, Wisconsin on April 3, 2009, less than 3 weeks after completing her first spring migration. She had been seen alive just a few hours before the carcass was found in the ditch about 10 feet from the edge of a road and about 50 feet from a power distribution line on the other side of the road. An exam will be done to determine cause of death. DAR #35-08 died before she could make her first migration. She was found a few weeks after being released on Necedah NWR in Wisconsin, the victim of an unknown predator. |
| Hatch
Year 2007 |
Crane #727 (27-07), was presumed dead and removed from the population total after being missing since March 2011 in Indiana. Crane #703 was presumed dead and removed from the population total in early 2013 after he suddeniy went missing from his mate on their wintering territory in December 2012. Crane 46-07 (DAR) was found dead on the Necedah NWR on August 28, 2012. Crane #713 was presumed dead and removed from the population total in February 2012 after being missing since November of 2010. Crane #42-07 (DAR)'s carcass, along with the carcass of her mate #524, was found on this breeding pair's Adams County territory on June 13, 2011. Experts suspect she died of septicemia, and analysis of lab cultures and tissues is pending. The pair's first nest had failed in April. Crane
#44-07 (DAR) was missing and presumed
dead by summer 2010 and removed from the total count of the
Eastern flock. Crane#706 was missing and presumed dead by summer 2010 and removed from the total count of the Eastern flock. Crane #709 was observed alive on May 22, 2010 and was apparently dead by May 24, the next date when his mate (#717) was observed alone. His carcass was discovered near a boundary of Necedah NWR that was not crane habitat, and #709 may have dropped while airborne. A necropsy will determine the cause of death. Crane 40-07 (DAR) died sometime after November 17, 2008, when she was last observed at her Michigan territory. Her remains and PTT were found on March 9, 2009 by the Michigan landowner on whose property she was living. Crane 721 was found dead soon after arriving in Florida in Dec. 2008 with mate #307. She was found on January 3, 2009 but likely died a week earlier—the last week in December 2008. DAR #45-07 was killed Oct. by a predator just hours after her release on Necedah NWR. DAR#41-07 was killed Oct. 31, 2007 when he was struck by a small jet at the Dane County Airport in Madison, Wisconsin. DAR #36-07 died Nov. 4, 2007 as a result of a power line collision in Kentucky on his first migration south. DAR #43-07 died March 22, 2008 as a result of a power line collision in Indiana on her first migration north. Crane 714 was killed March 30, 2008, the victim of a predator while on a spring migration stopover. Crane 735 was alive and well in July 2008, but unable to fly from an injury received during final health checks in Florida after her first migration. She was transported back to Wisconsin in spring, but, unable to fly, removed from the population to a captive breeding center to become a parent bird. Crane 710 was captured in Wisconsin and removed from the flock June 3, 2009 after it became clear that he was habituated to (used to and comfortable around) people. The team worried that he would attract other birds to the same unsafe behavior so 710 will now live in a zoo. |
| Hatch
Year 2006 |
Crane #28-06 (DAR) was missing and presumed dead and removed from the population total in summer 2010. One chick from the flock's first wild-hatched pair died at 4 months of age, before its first migration. Seventeen of the 18 juveniles at the Chassahowitzka NWR pen site died in the early morning of February 2, 2007 as a severe thunderstorm with high winds, resulting high tides and heavy rain, passed through the area: #601, 602, 604, 605, 606, 607, 608, 610, 611, 612, 613, 614, 618, 619, 620, 622, and 623. DAR #32-06 was killed by a predator (probably bobcat) the end of January, 2007. Her remains were discovered Feb. 6, 2007. DAR #26-06 was killed (likely by a predator) on April 13, 2007 at a migration stopover in Indiana. Crane #615 was found dead the end of April on his territory at Halpata Preserve in Florida before he could leave on migration. No signs of predation and no clues as to cause of death. A necropsy is being performed to determine how he died. |
| Hatch
Year 2005 |
Crane #514 was presumed dead and removed from the population total in February 2012 after being missing since May of 2010. Crane #506 was found shot to death in Jackson County, Indiana on December 30, 2011. The death is the second Indiana shooting (Crane #217 was shot there in 2009) and is under federal investigation. Crane #33-05 (DAR), missing since reported in Jackson County, Indiana on February 25 through March 6, 2010,was considered dead and was removed from the population total of the Eastern Flock in December 2011. Crane #520 had been missing long term and presumed dead and removed from the total count in the population of the Eastern flock in September 2011. Crane #27-05 (DAR), was discovered with her mate (31-08 DAR), on their breeding territory in Juneau County Forest, Wisconsin on July 7, 2011, both of them dead. A necropsy is being performed on the remains. Crane #524's carcass, along with the carcass of his mate, was found on this breeding pair's Adams County territory on June 13, 2011. His carcass was too decomposed to determine the cause of death and tissues were unsuitable for further analysis. Experts suspect his mate died of septicemia, and analysis of lab cultures and tissues is pending. Crane #511 was missing and presumed dead and removed from the total count in the population of the Eastern flock in summer 2010. Crane #516 was missing and presumed dead and removed from the total count in the population of the Eastern flock in summer 2010. Crane #515 died September 13, 2005 from colliding with the plane wire during training (before the chicks and ultralights left Wisconsin on migration). Crane #526 died on Day 27 (Nov. 9, 2005) of the southward migration, found dead in the travel pen after a fight with another crane in the pen. Crane #522 died sometime between July and September, 2006. His remains were discovered Oct 28, 2006 when his signal was detected during aerial tracking. Crane #521 died in her wintering area in Citrus County, Florida, between February 9 and 12, 2007. Her remains were discovered Feb. 20, 2007. Bobcat predation is suspected. Crane #523 died in Florida in April, 2007, likely from alligator predation. Crane #510 died in Wisconsin in July, 2007, killed by a predator when she was molting and flightless in a drought-stricken wetland. Crane #32-05 (DAR) died in Wisconsin sometime during the first two weeks of July, 2007, killed by a predator at the edge of a dried-up pond. Crane #502's completely intact body was found August 20, 2007 in a few inches of water. Experts believe she died on August 16 or 17, before the rains came and the marsh was likely dried up. Her carcass will be given to the USGS National Wildlife Health Center for necropsy to determine cause of death. Crane #503 was missing since May 2007 and not found until April 2008 when faint radio signals were detected from the territory of her and mate 507. The remains of both birds were found there on April 20, 2008. Death had likely occurred shortly after they were last observed in May 2007. Crane #507 was missing since May 2007 and not found until April 2008 when faint radio signals were detected from the territory of him and mate 503. The remains of both birds were found there on April 20, 2008. Death had likely occurred shortly after they were last observed in May 2007. Crane #501 was killed during the night by a bobcat and found the next day: March 19, 2010, just south of the chicks' release pen at Chassahowitzka NWR in Florida. |
| Hatch
Year 2004 |
Crane #412 (12-04) His life was cut short by a gunman on January 28, 2011 when he was shot dead on his winter territory in eastern Alabama. Federal wildlife officials are offering a $6,000 reward for arrest and conviction of the person who killed this bird. He was the fourth endangered Whooping crane to be illegally shot in the winter of 2010-2011. Crane #420 wintered in Tennessee but died in Chippewa County, Wisconsin after completing spring migration. She was found by a road in Chippewa County. No power lines were in the area and her mysterious death is being investigated. Crane
#406
died Dec. 11, 2004 of Eastern Equine Encephalitis, one day before
arrival at the Florida pen site with her group's ultralight
migration. Crane #417 died in June 2006, the victim of a Wisconsin predator. Crane #407's decomposed but otherwise intact carcass was found on September 13, 2007, in dry sedge marsh at his Wisconsin territory on northeastern Meadow Valley Flowage. Tracking data indicated that death probably occurred during August 29-31. He was last seen alive on August 20, the same date that the carcass of his mate (#502) was retrieved in the same general location. |
| Hatch
Year 2003 |
Crane #314was fatally injured during summer aircraft training before the first migration. Crane #319 was found dead in Michigan in August 2004, likely killed by a coyote. Crane #305 was killed in South Carolina during 2004 fall migration, likely by a bobcat. Crane #304 was found dead Oct. 27, 2005 at Necedah. No signs of trauma. Crane #302 was found dead July 17, 2006 in Monroe County, WI, likely the victim of a predator. It was the first death of a member of a breeding pair of whooping cranes in the new Eastern flock Crane #306 was found dead on his Wisconsin territory on July 12, 2007. He was flightless due to molt (loss and regrowth of feathers), which was about 80% complete. He was killed by a predator, apparently a large mammal, in a dried marsh in this drought-stricken area. Tracking data indicated that he died on or about July 6. Crane #301 was found dead September 28, 2007 at Necedah. Tracking data indicated that death probably occurred on the night of 25 September, and her carcass was intact. Cause of death is unknown and a necropsy will be performed. Crane #307 was found dead on his summer territory and his remains collected on July 21, 2011. Crane #303 was found injured on August 8, 2011 near a refuge road bordering her territory. She was euthanized after being brought to ICF for an examination. Crane #316 was presumed dead and removed from the population total in February 2012 after being missing since May of 2010. Crane
#311 was found dead on May 31, 2012 during an aerial survey over Necedah NWR. His carcass is being examined for cause of death. |
|
Hatch Year 2002 |
Crane #210 was fatally injured when struck by ultralight wing during on the first leg of fall migration 2002. Crane #207 died August 30, 2003 from capture myopathy after being retrieved from South Dakota. Crane #215 was found dead in Alabama on Jan. 3, 2005. Death is under investigation. Crane #206 was removed from the study before migration to be a role model at Patuxent WRC. Crane #214 died Feb. 2005 near the pen in Florida, the apparent victim of a bobcat. Crane #203 died July 22, 2006 in Wisconsin, the apparent victim of a predator. Crane #208 died Dec. 27, 2006 in Indiana (photos), from stress-induced myopathy after an apparent powerline strike while at a migration stopover site in Indiana. Crane #204 died Jan. 2007 in Florida. Her remains are being examined for cause. Crane #202, missing since March 2007, was officially removed from the population in February 2008. The team presumes she has died. Crane #201, missing since June 2007, was officially removed from the population in July 2008. The team presumes she has died. Crane #209, who was seen badly limping in May 2008, was officially removed from the population in September 2008. Her mate was on the territory alone, and the team presumes she has died. Crane 205, although his death was never confirmed or substantiated by additional evidence, was no longer considered alive in the Eastern flock population totals as of May, 2009. Crane 217, the famous female in the First Family, was shot to death during 2009 fall migration. Her death was discovered December 1, 2009, just 3 days after she'd been detected with her mate in Indiana as they migrated south. Indiana Department of Natural Resources conservation officers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agents are investigating. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a minimum reward of $2,500 to the person or people who provide information leading to a conviction. [Killers caught and sentenced] |
Crane #107 was presumed dead and counted out of the flock total in July 2011 after not being detected since May 2010. Crane #111 died from capture myopathy after pre-migration health check and banding on 9/11/2001. Crane #109 was removed from the study due to feather problems and is now at Audubon Zoo in New Orleans. Crane #103 died from a power line collision when she escaped in a storm on the ultralight-led journey south. Crane #104 was killed by a bobcat at the pen site in Florida shortly after arrival.Crane #110 was killed by a bobcat at the pen site in Florida. Crane #106 was found dead May 3, 2005, likely killed by a predator just after returning to Wisconsin. Crane #102 was found dead October 12, 2008 on Necedah NWR after being killed by a predator sometime after mid-July. Crane #105 was removed from the study in 2011 due to repeated visits to a female crane at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park in Florida. He will spend the rest of his life in captivity there, in the company of the captive female crane he likes so much. |
* Includes losses (through death or removal) of ALL chicks that began ultralight training in Wisconsin, plus chicks of the Direct Autumn Release (DAR) and chicks hatched into the new Eastern flock from wild parents.
Journey North is pleased to feature this educational adventure in collaboration with Operation Migration and the entire Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP).
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