The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division (LDWF) confirmed the shooting incident of a pair of whooping cranes which killed the female and severely injured the male.
The incident occurred on Thursday morning in the Jefferson Davis Parish, located in southwest Louisiana. The cranes were recovered at the corner of Radio Tower Road and Compton Road, north of Roanoke.
Spokesman for the LDWF Adam Einck stated that the male belonged to the first group of cranes freed into the wild in 2011 while the female belonged to the second group. Robert Love, also working with the LDWF, said that the whooping cranes that were killed were the only pair that has established a mating bond, although they haven't produced eggs yet.
The male crane was being transported to Louisiana State University veterinary school located at Baton Rouge for the treatment of its injuries.
"It is expected to live but wildlife agents don't know if it will be able to fly. One of its wings was pretty badly damaged from the shot," Einck said in a press release.
Whooping cranes belong to the world's rarest and largest birds, and only 600 cranes are still living today. In Southern Louisiana, a total of 50 whooping cranes were released into the wild, all of them were banded and attached with radio transmitters to determine their locations. Of the 50 cranes, 32 are still alive.
LDWF Secretary Robert Barham expressed his sentiment over the shooting incident. "Anytime we lose one of these cranes it sets us back in our efforts to restore the whooping crane population back to its historic levels in Louisiana. These were once native birds to Louisiana and the department would like to see these cranes thrive again in the future with a sustainable population", he said in the press release.
