| 01/11/2005
– The oldest known female Whooping Crane was recently
found dead on the edge of Muskiki Lake, Saskatchewan.
The 28 year old bird was last seen alive on October 3
in a field near Muskiki Lake where she was feeding with
her mate and chick. She seemed to be slightly apart from
her family and later wandered to the lakeshore and disappeared.
“I suspected something was wrong. When I later received
a sighting report of a single adult with a chick on the
same lake I decided to investigate,” says Brian Johns
of Environment Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service.
A small search team of biologists headed back to where
the bird was last seen. All that was found were two piles
of feathers and a carcass that had been dragged to a nearby
bush. “Twenty-eight is a ripe old age for a crane, so
I suspect she died of old age and was then scavenged by
a fox or coyote,” Johns speculates.
Twenty-eight years ago when she was a chick in a remote
area of Wood Buffalo National Park, Ernie Kuyt, retired
Canadian Wildlife Service biologist, gave Green-Red her
unique coloured leg bands. The leg bands would enable
her to be tracked over the years. Since then, she has
been making the long annual migration between Wood Buffalo
National Park and Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, covering
an estimated 225,000 km. She has added 11 offspring to
the flock, helping bring the species back from the brink
of extinction.
Environment Canada has made it a priority to conduct long-term
research, monitoring, and recovery activities to help
bring back species at risk such as the Whooping Crane.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of biologists, citizen
sightings and responsible wildlife activities, and through
protection measures such as the Species at Risk Act and
the Migratory Bird Convention Act, it is hoped that this
majestic species of bird will continue on the road to
recovery.
To report a sighting, call the Whooping Crane Hotline
at (306) 975-5595. To learn more about the Whooping Crane,
visit www.speciesatrisk.gc.ca. |
