Joe Duff Co-founder and CEO Operation Migration
History Aransas Wood Buffalo Population Down to 15 in the 1940's (pop = 329) Grays Lake Cross Fostering program 1975 to 1989 (pop= 0) Florida Non-Migratory Population 1993 to 2005 (pop = 14) Eastern Migratory Population Began in 2001 (pop = 101) Louisiana Non-Migratory Population Began in 2010 (pop = 57)
Threats to Critical Habitat Aransas National Wildlife Refuge • Sea level rise • Land subsidence • Human encroachment • Reduced blue crab populations • Reduced fresh water inflows from the Guadalupe River • Invasive species (black mangrove) • Chemical spills • Avian Disease • Catastrophic weather events
Eastern Migratory Population There are now 100 migratory Whooping cranes in the eastern flyway The first in over 100 years
One More Challenge Successes: • High survival rate • Proper migration behavior • Human avoidance • Appropriate habitat selection • Pairing and mating with conspecifics • Produce healthy, fertile eggs Challenges: • Nest abandonment due to blackflies • High-post hatch / pre-fledge mortality
Causes of Low Reproduction
Education and Outreach First, live streaming camera of nesting Whooping cranes Second, live streaming camera of the costume-reared cohort
A Busy Season Investigating the cause of pre-fledge mortality at Necedah NWR Parent Rearing up to 15 young-of-year chicks Costume Rearing up to 8 young-of-year chicks Monitoring nesting pairs and adoptions from the air and the ground Providing the first live coverage of nesting Whooping cranes
Thank You Southern Company
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