WSP05055

• File Number: 8460.500
• Description: Platte River Recovery Plan
• Basin: South Platte
• Date: 2/11/1994
• Author: USFWS
• Title: Whooping Crane Recovery Plan
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Publication

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hunting of geese and ducks might be imposed as a ponsequence of the presence of an
endangered species (Gomez 1992). Federal concerrs included the belief that local residents
might not be instilled with a conservation ethic sufficient to permit success of the
reintroduction (letter from D. L. Hall, Special Agent ,In Charge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, April, 1978),

In 1979, the recovery team contacted the Florida Commission to ask if there was interest in
evaluating the feasibility of establiShing Ii non-migrlltory flock of whooping c,ranes in the
Southeast. Research to address the question began in 1980. One member of each of
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several established pairs of Florida sandhill cranes V\!as captured and instrumented with a
radio transmitter. When nesting began, eggs of gre:ater sandhill cranes, obtained from
Patuxent or from the wild in Wisconsin or Idaho, were substituted for the pair's natural
clutch, Hatching and rearing of the young were monitored until the resultant chick/chicks
were 55, to 60 days old, The young were then captured, radio tagged, and plastic leg bands
attached, Movements were monitored through one or two spring migrations following
separation from their parents.

By the mid-1980's, questions began to arise concertling the lack of pairing behavior of
whooping cranes cross-fostered by sandhill cranes. I It was necessary to test an alternative
reintroduction technique and in 1986, releases of cliPtive-reared sandhill cranes began, Four
cohorts of captive-reared greater sandhill cranes were soft- or gentle-released in Florida
during late winter or early spring (Nesbitt and Carpenter 1993), Concurrently a group of
Florida sandhill cranes (1. or 2-year-olds) from known natal sites were captured, radio-
instrumented, and monitored as a control to compare with dispersal among the experimental
groups,

Thirty-four greater sandhill crane eggs were transferred into 23 Florida sandhill crane nests
between 1982 and 1987. From these transfers fiv~ young were produced which survived
to the age at which they separated from their parents. Twenty-seven captive-reared young
were released (4 cohorts) during 2 years (15:4 April 1986; 12:2 January 1987). They were
all radio-instrumented and distinctly color banded. Eighteen survived through at least one
complete spring migration and two fall migrations. Only southerly movements by some
individuals (60 to 120 km) exceeded normal disperslll of subadult Florida sandhill cranes, In
the one instance of the 120 km movement south th~ birds returned within 6 weeks to the
general vicinity of release. The movements of the ~ispersing experimental birds did not
differ significantly (P greater than 0.05), either in di~ection or timing (date) of movement
from that of a control group (Nesbitt and Carpenter j1993).

In 1983, the U,S. Recovery Team met to select sites to evaluate for a third wild population,
Eastern sites were proposed because they would be discrete from the wild populations in
central and western United States, Sites selected were Seney NWR and adjacent areas in
the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and Ontario, Okefe,nokee Swamp in southern Georgia, and
three sites in Florida (Lewis and Cooch 1992). Three-year research projects were
established in each of the three principal areas. Re~earch began in October of 1984.
< I
Although the development of reliable methods for reintroducing captive-produced cranes to
the wild has proven to be a relatively difficult task, considerable progress has been made in
the past decade. A number of experimental soft or gentle releases have already been