Cranes Killed

The young whooping cranes that were wintering in Florida have been wiped out by the recent violent storms that swept the state.

Eighteen endangered young whooping cranes that were led from Wisconsin to Florida last fall to create a second migratory flock of the birds were killed in Friday's violent storms, a spokesman said yesterday.

The cranes were being kept in an enclosure at the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge near Crystal River, Fla., said Joe Duff, co-founder of Operation Migration, the organization coordinating the project.

One crane, apparently, is still missing. Whether that means that it survived remains to be seen.

The Birdchaser has more thoughts on the subject.

Update: As it turns out, one bird did survive.