14 Whooping Cranes Restored to their Native Louisiana

A group of 14 young whooping cranes have been restored to their native marshes of southwest Louisiana, as part of an ongoing effort to help this endangered bird recover to its once abundant levels.

The cranes, raised at facilities in Maryland and Wisconsin, were delivered Thursday to their new home at the White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area near Gueydan.

Currently, the only natural and self-sustaining wild flock of whooping cranes migrates between Texas and Canada, with another group taught to migrate between Wisconsin and Florida. This latest band of birds will hopefully stay put in Louisiana year-round and reproduce, for whooping cranes in the area now number at a mere 40 individuals, according to the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF).

"As we prepare to enter year five of this project, I encourage the public to continue to support our biologists in this effort by observing these birds from a distance and reporting any sightings of injured birds or anyone attempting to harm them in any way," LDWF Secretary Robert Barham said in a news release Friday. "We are fortunate to have a number of private landowners who have assisted us by working with our staff when the cranes roost on their property and I thank them for their participation."

Whooping cranes (Grus americana) disappeared from the Louisiana landscape by 1950 after habitat loss and hunting decimated their numbers. These birds stand five feet tall and have wings spanning seven to eight feet long, making them one of the largest birds in the world. Not to mention that they are one of the rarest, and so conservationists started a project in 2011 to reintroduce cranes to the White Lake area of Louisiana, where they were lasted sighted.

Since the project was launched, a total of 64 cranes have been brought to the state, however, 24 have died either from predators or hunters. Although all things considered, officials who are part of the project are still hopeful.

"We are pretty pleased with the survival," Sara Zimorski, a biologist with the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, told The Advocate.

Soon some of these whooping cranes will reach reproductive age and be able to contribute to the species' survival, hopefully helping their flocks flourish once more.

Whooping cranes are protected under the Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

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