Althouse: Whooping cranes.

September 1, 2009

Whooping cranes.

Video made today at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Here's some info about the whooping crane.

18 comments:

Jason (the commenter) said...: They live near me in the winter, maybe I'll go check them out.; 9/1/09, 8:11 PM
Meade said...: Jason (the): Wish I could be the one to escort them down to Florida.; 9/1/09, 8:42 PM
Meade said...: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ7-nSpZMDE&feature=channel; 9/1/09, 8:48 PM
bagoh20 said...: I live adjacent to LAX in LA which has some open fields and is near wetlands. I see a lot of Great White and Blue Heron around my home. What is amazing is that they stalk and eat gophers. The sneak up on them just like they would a fish or frog and wham! They swallow them alive and whole: fur, claws, teeth. That is a tough meal; tougher than the hottest Mexican fare around. I am enthralled by birds like these and Pelicans that eat their sizable prey alive and moving. Is it more satisfying if they wiggle a lot in the gullet? How long do they thrash about? How many die from eating a particularly feisty meal?; 9/1/09, 8:53 PM
rhhardin said...: Whooping chicken.; 9/1/09, 8:59 PM
jjm said...: Good eating! They taste just like chicken! Low fat and plenty of Omega-3's.
Jim; 9/1/09, 9:00 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Whooping crane are called that because can lift the Whopper ;); 9/1/09, 9:03 PM
Wince said...: Some interesting Whooping Crane FAQs

Do whooping cranes mate for life or select a new mate every year?
Whooping cranes mate for life, but they will take a new mate after the loss of the original. The pair will return to use and defend the same nesting and wintering territory year after year.

How long do wild whooping cranes live?
They are known to live at least 22 years in the wild and perhaps as long as 40 years.

How large is the whooping crane population?
The world’s whooping crane population has gradually increased from a low of 22 birds in 1941 to 503 birds in spring 2009. Always rare, the whooping crane population may never have exceeded 10,000.; 9/1/09, 9:10 PM
Penny said...: That was funny, rh.

The first time I ever heard the term "endangered species", it was about the whooping crane. I was quite young and very distressed at the time. I suppose I figured that if it could happen to the whooping crane, it could happen to humans too.; 9/1/09, 9:15 PM
Albatross said...: Jason (the commenter), you live in Texas? So do I, and I've seen those cranes down at the coast. They were a not unusual sight for me when I was a kid and before I even realized they were so endangered that people around the world paid attention to them.; 9/1/09, 9:58 PM
Jason (the commenter) said...: Albatros, no I live in Florida, about 65 miles from where the ones in Wisconsin migrate to. Also about 100 miles from where a flock lives year round.; 9/1/09, 10:11 PM
Methadras said...: Did they shoop the whoop?; 9/1/09, 10:18 PM
bagoh20 said...: Maybe I'm sick or something:

Pelican Swallows Pigeon; 9/1/09, 10:32 PM
Albatross said...: @Jason (the commenter): Cool. You might get better looks at the birds, especially with that ultralight leading them around. Our Texas cranes just fly on their own.

I think.

I ain't seen no ultralight that I remember.; 9/1/09, 11:08 PM
Beth said...: I expect I'll see some of them here this winter.

I love Baraboo - I hope you go to the Circus Museum.; 9/1/09, 11:15 PM
Anonymous said...: Cute. But, ya know? It would be my luck that I'd be a filming one of those things and the pea picker would tear after me and commence to whoppin' on me!

-Pat; 9/2/09, 3:11 AM
Rockport Conservative said...: I live all but next door to the Aransas Wildlife Refuge where they spend the winter. They are spreading out and live at the ranch across my fence, also at a small place across the road from
me. My Yorkie knows their calls so well that she recognizes when they will fly and looks up to see them before they fly over. (very low) I think they would have been in my yard except for her. I have seen their tracks in the sand and rock drive that leads to my house. Unfortunately we have had such a drought here quite a few have not survived. Haven't heard the final tally yet.
Jason: they are trying to expand their range to keep from having the problems we see this year with the drought.
That is why they use the ultralight to get them to Florida.; 9/2/09, 10:16 AM
Big Mike said...: @Professor, is there still a Circus Museum in Baraboo? Someone recommended it to me a whole bunch of years ago, but I never got around to going.; 9/2/09, 7:47 PM