A flock of whooping cranes and an ultralight aircraft fly over Dunnellon Municipal Airport on Tuesday.(STEPHEN J. CODDINGTON/ST. PETERSBURG TIMES)December 13, 2005
The whooping cranes followed ultralights from Wisconsin to Marion County.Robert Sargent Sentinel Staff Writer Posted December 14, 2005
DUNNELLON -- Nineteen gangly young whooping cranes completed a 61-day journey across seven states Tuesday to become the newest graduates of an experimental program to save one of the world's most threatened species.The birds reached their destination about 80 miles northwest of Orlando, following the lead of four manned ultralight planes buzzing through the brisk blue sky.
They touched down in a secluded grassy area in Halpata Tastanaki Preserve in Marion County that will become their new winter home for the next several weeks.Experts hope they will take what they've learned and join dozens of other whooping cranes this spring to complete a 2,500-mile round-trip migration back north to Wisconsin.And if all goes well, they will grow up and follow nature's other calling -- to find a mate."The best two words to describe this is exhilarating and humbling," said Liz Condie, spokeswoman for the nonprofit group Operation Migration. "It really moves you."In the past four years, Operation Migration has helped train 41 other captive-bred whooping cranes to make a migration that otherwise would be instinctive to birds raised in the wild. They are part of a huge project to reintroduce whooping cranes in the eastern United States.Since 1993, state and federal wildlife officials also have relocated nearly 300 more whooping cranes to secluded spots in Lake, Osceola and Polk counties without teaching them to migrate.About 70 have survived. The rest died from disease, predators and other causes.Rapid development also threatens the birds' survival by encroaching on their prime habitat of wetlands and pasture.Last week, the Orlando Sentinel reported that massive development in the offing for 6,000 acres along the Lake-Sumter county line could jeopardize an important whooping-crane breeding ground.All the cranes in Florida were raised at facilities in Maryland, Wisconsin, Texas and Canada. Combined with a wild population of whooping cranes that migrates between Texas and Canada, fewer than 500 of the endangered birds are left in the world."This is our best effort at saving the species," said Steve Nesbitt, a crane expert with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission."We're still not sure they're going to be able to survive without a lot of intervention on our part," Nesbitt said.Fossil records date whooping cranes back millions of years, according to the International Crane Foundation. In the late 19th century, the number of cranes was estimated at 1,400.Hunting and habitat loss dwindled their numbers to only about 15 by 1941, according to experts.Adult cranes reach nearly 5 feet tall. They are the tallest bird in North America, the only place they exist.Known for their loud whooping calls, they can live up to 25 years in the wild and usually do not breed until they are 4 or 5 years old.The cranes in the migration program typically are hatched at the U.S. Geological Survey's Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Md. Biologists wear baggy white outfits to minimize the bird's familiarity with humans.After about 45 days, the young cranes are transported to Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin, where they are conditioned to follow an ultralight aircraft.The migration starts from Wisconsin in mid-October with four aircraft leading the birds up to 200 miles a day depending on the weather. Altogether, the trip to Florida covers about 1,200 miles.In past years, the cranes were led to Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge in Crystal River.But this year, biologists are keeping them nearby -- at least temporarily -- at Halpata Tastanaki Preserve in Dunnellon to avoid conflicts with older migrating cranes.The migratory program is expected to continue for several more years."We have a ways to go yet, and we've come a very long way," Condie said.Robert Sargent can be reached at rsargent@orlandosentinel.com or 352-742-5909.
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