European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 19, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 the stars and stripes saturday april 19, 1986worried about whoppers aiming for second flock a project to create another flock of whooping cranes has had trouble getting off the ground. Up photo by Brad Smith United press International a bold attempt to Start a second wild flock of the stately whooping Crane has Yetto succeed after 11 years and is like the Bird itself facing extinction. The Stark White whooping Crane is North America s tallest Bird about 5 feet tall. It was never abundant but before europeans colonized the continent it numbered about 1,400 Birds and was found from the Atlantic Seaboard to West of the Rocky mountains. Settlers moving West destroyed the big Bird s Marsh and Prairie habitat. The shy Crane was seen less and less until Only 21 whoppers were known to exist in 1937. Fifteen of those spent their Winters along the Texas Gulf coast and the other six were in southwestern Louisiana. The Louisiana flock was gone by the Early 1940s. The government began a major Effort in 1937 to save the Whooper from extinction establishing the Arkansas National wildlife Refuge near Austwell Texas providing the Birds Legal Protection and warning the Public to be careful of them. That attempt has been the biggest Success Story for government conservationists because the flock now numbers 96 Birds and could reach the psychological Milestone of 100 this summer. The . Fish and wildlife service and the Canadian wildlife service have worried that the flock could meet with disaster particularly because the whoppers Migrate 2,400 Miles Over increasingly populated country from their nesting grounds at Wood Buffalo National Park near the Arctic Circle to the Gulf coast. In 1975, the two countries began an Experiment to establish a second Independent flock of wild whoppers. Heading the program was or. Rod Drewien a biologist at the University of Idaho who had worked Many years with migratory Birds and was an expert on the whoopers1 Cousin the Sandhill Crane. Drewien s plan was to take eggs from the whooping cranes nests in Canada they usually Lay two but normally Only one survives and place them in the nests of greater Sandhill cranes at Grays Lake Idaho. The san Hills which also have made a biological comeback Migrate Only half the distance As the whooping cranes and much of it is Over wild country. Over the years since 1975, there have been some successes in the Effort. The san Hills have accepted the Whooper Chicks As their own and have taken the whoppers on the annual migrations to the Bosque Del Apache Refuge in new Mexico. A lot has been Learned about Crane biology and behaviour. But the ultimate goal of the Experiment to establish a Breeding population of whoppers has not been realized after 11 years. In addition some unforeseen circumstances have resulted in a very High mortality rate among the whoppers. The whooping cranes and their Sandhill Foster parents Stop at the san Luis Valley of Southern Colorado each year on their migratory cycles. This year the Spring migration began in Early March and there were 30 whoppers scattered among the 15,000 or so san Hills in the Valley. Another Whooper died March 13 at the Rio Grande zoo in Albuquerque n.m., from an undetermined illness. Of the five whoppers that travelled South the first fall of the Experiment none is alive. Only one of the 1976 crop of whoppers is alive. Two remain from 1978, three from 1979 and one from 1980. The single largest reason for the High Whooper mortality has been collisions with Power lines in the san Luis Valley. The Power lines crisscross the High Valley providing electricity for abundant sprinkler systems used for agricultural irritation. The unaccounted for Lack of females among the transplanted whoppers is a second unforeseen problem. Female whoppers have to be 5 or 6 years of age before they begin laying eggs. This past Winter there were just two known females of that age and one of them apparently was wounded by a gunshot in new Mexico. Goof was 00ysanp6irls he on Theun with an opp05ih5 viewpoint 15itihim \ House spokesman Lark $p�ak.tous, / apr s so Callep so says on rap an image the Fol appointees  Are All views of vicious smear. Gmw6ns by the Liberal press.  total confipenc5 in the innocence not Anim Gwyon Gonna eve Elf inti visual give an   0- is that so Harp today s crossword by Eugene Sheffer across 1 health resort 4 ring up 8 modelling stuff 12 Diamond n 13 inter 14 latvian capital 15 single ton 16 misplaced 17 pizzeria fixture 18 inces Santly 21 comedian 22 sprinted 23 Ballerina Painter 26 cartographer s concern 27 craze30 Jai 31 "2001" computer 32 centers 33 underlie 34 a Man 35 sack out 36 prohibit 37 cry of discovery 38 repeatedly 45 soak up the Sun 46 Tower Over 47 fury 48 actress Sommer 49 challenge50 she Rabbit 51 Colleen 52 lean to 53 common connector Down 1 sluggish 2 Timber tree 3 on the sheltered Side 4 Orient express Stop 5 soaring 6 roster 7 football pass 8 King Topper 9 exist 10 writer James Herb shoe solution time 24 min. Vhf Fly sm3  1 in Inyl a Nona 19 River of movie Fame 20 Knock 23 june honoree 24 inventor whitney25 leg Colloq. 26 loony 27 enemy 28 top player 29 party snack 31 announces32 Banner 34 Spectator 35 abashed 36 delivery boys vehicles 37 worship 38 Cain s victim 39 festive 40 invites 41 Early Boater 42 Verdi opus 43 press 44 pre requisite 4-19 yesterday s answer 12 15 18 2 3 13 16 19 321 23 30" 3t 38 45" 48 5t 24 25 39 40 36 34 31 46 49 5t 26 41 22 37 914 20 35 17 32 42 47 50 53 10 11 43 29 44 4-19 Hubert Well have to quiet another Hubert Point the i ll9 Pip i heart Pencil 9nap? Parn pants-suit&3ulpnv resist at .�i986 King Foa Luios Syndicate inc world Anghis reserved