Whooping Crane nests in Texas for first time in more than a century

The US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) has announced that two pairs of Whooping Cranes are nesting in Texas this spring – the first time the species has attempted to breed in the state since the late 1800s.

The adults cranes are known from a reintrouction scheme in south-west Louisiana, which aims to restore a viable population to the state's historically occupied White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area. The non-migratory population that used to inhabit this area died out in the 1950s due to habitat loss for agricultural land and excessive hunting. Now, following dedicated conservation efforts, the number of these long-lived birds residing in Louisiana is into the seventies.

Whooping Crane is breeding in Texas for the first time since the late 1800s (Diana Robinson / Flickr).

The USFWS recently completed an agreement with the Natural Resources Conservation Service that provides private landowners in south-east Texas with similar regulatory protections that landowners hosting Whooping Cranes in Louisiana receive. It also provides technical assistance to plan conservation actions that enhance wetland habitats for a variety of wildlife species.

"Conservation cannot happen in Texas and beyond without the support and dedication of our private landowners," said Carter Smith, Executive Director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). "We look forward to our continued efforts with our vast network of partners, especially private landowners, to ensure whooping cranes, and all of our wildlife in Texas, thrive in the future."