The Little-Known Story Of Whooping Crane In Louisiana And How It's Making A Big Comeback
By Jackie Ann|Published February 19, 2024
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Jackie Ann
Author
Louisiana native and LSU Alum (Geaux Tigers!), Jackie has lived in Louisiana for over three decades and currently lives in New Orleans. She's been writing for OnlyInYourState since 2016 and can often be found with a coffee at her side, dreaming of her next adventure.
Thousands of migratory birds pass through Louisiana each year. It’s actually estimated that up to 2.5 million birds pass through Southern Louisiana during peak migration! The Pelican State certainly has an abundance of feathered friends to admire. Heck, you could be sitting in traffic and catch a glimpse of an egret fishing in a ditch right by you. Out of all of Louisiana’s beautiful birds, the whooping crane has had a troubled past, but thanks to the efforts of many wildlife preservationists, the whooping crane in Louisiana is making a comeback.
Say hello to the whooping crane, the tallest bird in North America.
A cousin to the sandhill crane, whooping cranes can be identified by their red crown and long, dark bill. They also have black wing tips that are visible when the bird is flying. These birds can be anywhere from 4-5 feet tall with a wingspan of 6-7 feet.
Historically, these birds thrived in Louisiana. They love swamps and marshes, and Louisiana has plenty of both.
Unfortunately, the whooping crane population in Louisiana rapidly declined in the first half of the 20th century due to hunting and demands for its feathers. This is a very similar story to how the egret population in Louisiana was in danger for the same reason. The feathers were in high demand for women’s fashion. This is actually why Bird City on Avery Island is so important!
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By 1945, only two whopping cranes remained in Louisiana.
Five years later, the last remaining whooping crane was captured and brought to a wildlife refuge in Texas in hopes that it could join the small flock over there. They were placed on the endangered species list in 1967.
Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries partnered up with the Canadian Wildlife Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the International Crane Foundation with the goal of reintroducing non-migratory whooping cranes to Louisiana. A few birds were released at the White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area in southwestern Louisiana.
Whooping cranes usually only lay two eggs per year, so this is a very long process to get the population out of “endangered” and into “threatened”. Once the adult birds lay the eggs, the staff incubates the eggs until they hatch.
It’s very important that these young chicks don’t attach to humans, so the staff makes sure interactions are minimal.
And they wear special whooping crane costumes for an extra level of protection. Anyone else wishing they had seen this as an option on career day in school?
After six months, the youngsters are ready to relocate to the marshes where they’ll join the wild flock.
The population of whooping cranes in Louisiana has gone from zero in 1950 to more than 85 as of 2023. And populations across North America have reached 500. Since these birds only lay two eggs a year, it’s going to take a while. One of the most recent releases was in the fall of 2023 when the Audubon Species Survival Center successfully hatched and reared three cranes and released them at the White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area. There was even a fourth crane that was raised at the Dallas Zoo that was brought over to join the party.
Read on to learn about the history of Bird City and how the Tabasco family helped play a hand in the survival of this beautiful bird:
