Coronavirus means few young whooping cranes for fall release
Associated Press
In this photo provided by the Audubon Nature Institute, Heather Holtz takes semen from an endangered whooping crane for artificial insemination on Sunday, May 31, 2020, while Elyssa Buch holds the bird at the institute's Species Survival Center in New Orleans. In the background, Hanna Carter keeps the female crane from trying to protect her mate. Because of money losses and staff cutbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Audubon is using the technique only for its most genetically valuable birds. (Audubon Nature Institute via AP)
In this photo provided by the Audubon Nature Institute, from left, Elyssa Buch and Heather Holtz process semen from an endangered whooping crane at the institute's Species Survival Center for artificial insemination on Sunday, May 31, 2020. Because of money losses and staff cutbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Audubon is using the technique only for its most genetically valuable birds. (Audubon Nature Institute via AP)
FILE - In this March 23, 2018 file photo, an endangered whooping crane flies over a crawfish pond in St. Landry Parish, La. Louisiana's flock is one of two made up almost entirely of birds raised in captivity and released in the wild to mitigate disaster in case anything happens to the only natural flock. But the COVID-19 pandemic will mean fewer youngsters than usual to release in the wild in fall 2020, helping to bring back the world's rarest cranes. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
FILE - In this June 21, 2018 file photo, a keeper wearing a "crane suit," to resemble an adult endangered whooping crane so the chick doesn’t view humans as its flock, uses a crane-head hand-puppet to attract a recently hatched chick at the Audubon Nature Institute's Species Survival Center in New Orleans. The center usually "costume-raises" a number of chicks. But because the coronavirus pandemic has cut money and staffing it will do so in 2020 only if adult whoopers at the center are doing poorly at raising chicks. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
In this May 11, 2014 photo provided by the International Crane Foundation, curator of birds Kim Boardman holds an endangered whooping crane, while senior aviculturist Marianne Wellington performs artificial insemination. The foundation is not using the technique this year because foundation officials feel it would go against COVID-19 social distancing guidelines. This is among reasons that far fewer young whooping cranes than usual will be released into the wiild this fall to help bring back the world's rarest crane. (International Crane Foundation via AP)
FILE - In this June 11, 2018, file photo, a captive-bred whooping crane and its wild-hatched chick forage through a crawfish pond in Jefferson Davis Parish, La. The COVID-19 pandemic means far fewer chicks than usual are being bred in captivity to release in the wild in fall 2020. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
FILE - In this June 11, 2018 file photo, a pair of captive-bred whooping cranes and their 2-month-old wild-hatched chicks forage through a crawfish pond near an egret, far right, in Jefferson Davis Parish, La. The COVID-19 pandemic means far fewer chicks than usual are being bred in captivity to release in the wild in fall 2020, helping to bring back the world's rarest cranes. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
FILE - In this June 21, 2018 file photo, a keeper wearing a "crane suit," to resemble an adult endangered whooping crane so the chick doesn’t view humans as its flock, uses a hand-puppet to feed a recently hatched chick at the Audubon Nature Institute's Species Survival Center in New Orleans. The center usually "costume-raises" a number of chicks. But because the coronavirus pandemic has cut money and staffing it will do so in 2020 only if adult whoopers at the center are doing poorly at raising chicks. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
FILE - In this June 21, 2018 file photo, a recently hatched endangered whooping crane chick follows a keeper wearing a "crane suit," to resemble an adult endangered whooping crane so the chick doesn’t view humans as its flock at Audubon Nature Institute's Species Survival Center in New Orleans. The center usually "costume-raises" a number of chicks. But because the coronavirus pandemic has cut money and staffing it will do so in 2020 only if adult whoopers at the center are doing poorly at raising chicks. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The COVID-19 pandemic is drastically cutting the number of young whooping cranes to be released this fall to boost flocks of the world’s rarest cranes.
Zoos and other places where the endangered birds are bred have reduced staffs and use of two techniques to increase chick numbers. One is artificial insemination.
The other is having people in baggy costumes raise chicks to keep the birds from viewing humans as their parents.
Only about 825 whoopers exist.
Biologists are trying to establish a flock in Louisiana and one that migrates from Wisconsin to Florida to supplement the only natural flock, which breeds in Canada and winters in Texas.
