- The Dallas Zoo is offering a reward for any clues about a dead whooping crane
- The chick was found with fatal gunshot wounds in Louisiana
- READ MORE: Cranes ‘could be wiped out’ by disease outbreak
Officials are hunting for the killer of an endangered chick found dead in Louisiana.
The Dallas Zoo, where the chick was born, announced the death last week, saying the bird was found with gunshot wounds two months after it was released into the wild. It was part of a conservation program to increase the declining population.
Zoo and conservation officials are offering a $12,500 reward for information leading to an arrest or indictment.
Crane chickens are protected under the Endangered Species Act and those who harm the animal face up to a year in prison and a $50,000 fine.
Officials are hunting for the killer of an endangered crane chick found dead in Louisiana
“It is with heavy hearts that we announce that our crane chick, which was released into the wild in November 2023, was found deceased with a fatal gunshot wound near Mamou, Louisiana on January 9,” the Dallas Zoo shared in a post on X.
“If you have any information relevant to this case, please contact USFWS at 985-882-3756 or the LDWF Lake Charles Office at 337-491-2588.”
The chick was found dead in an agricultural pond on the south side of Besi Lane.
At necropsy it was determined that the crane had been shot, resulting in a fracture of the spinal column and internal bleeding.
The whooping crane was released by the zoo into the wild of western Louisiana, which the team celebrated at the time as a conservation victory.
Staff said the team worked on the project for five years, starting with adult whooping cranes breeding to hatch viable eggs.
The zoo received a whooping crane egg, then placed it among their breeding pair and the pair raised the chick as their own. The photo shows the chick with one of its adopted parents
The Dallas Zoo released the chick (pictured) into the wild last November – two months before it was found dead in Louisiana
The egg came to the Dallas Zoo from the International Crane Foundation, where staff placed it among their breeding pair and the couple raised the chick as their own.
The crane was introduced along with three others from the Audubon Institute to acclimatize the birds before heading into the wild.
“With this release, the Louisiana crane population now stands at 85 cranes,” the Dallas Zoo said in a November statement.
“We are so proud to be part of the ongoing efforts to save this iconic species from extinction.”
The Dallas-raised chick was found dead in Mamou on January 9, prompting an investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF).
The reward for information about the dead chick includes the USFWS offering up to $5,000, the LDWF offering up to $2,500, the International Crane Foundation offering up to $2,500 and the Dallas Zoo offering up to $2,500.
The whooping crane stands up to five feet tall, making it the tallest bird in North America, and is distinguishable by its unusual ‘whooping’ sound.
There are fewer than 600 in North America.
By the 1940s, only 21 whooping cranes remained in the wild due to overhunting and habitat loss, leading to conservation programs that bolstered the population.