A predicted 247 endangered whooping cranes will descend on Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas this year, down from the 270 that arrived last year. This will be the first decline in seven years for this population of 5 ½ foot tall white birds, which is the only naturally occurring crane population in the world.
This decline, in fact, any decline in population is of concern to wildlife specialists. The flock population, which usually grows by half a dozen every year, fell in South Texas last winter as the result of food and freshwater shortages brought on by the extended drought.
This year whoopers hatched only 52 chicks in Canada — a six-year low — and only 22 survived. The youngsters won't be counted as part of the overall population until they make it to the refuge for the first time. The arriving whoopers willthen likely face the prospect of a shortage of food supplies in Aransas again this year. Their prime food sources — blue crabs and wolfberries — have yet to rebound from the drought, which may cause some whoopers to starve.
Read more on the plight of the whooping cranes here.
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