Why are the WCEP whooping cranes kept in the pen at the winter release site?
February 13, 2007 For more information, contact: Joan Garland 608-356-9462, x142 Rachel F. Levin, (612) 713-5311; 612-309-5760 (cell) View photos of the whooping crane pen at Chassahowitzka NWR from February 2006 (Operation Migration website) The Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge, located on Florida’s gulf coast, is over 31,000 acres of salt water bays, estuaries and brackish marshes with a fringe of hardwood swamps along one boundary. The whooping cranes are located in four acres of fenced-in salt marsh. The fencing includes three levels of electric fencing to protect the birds from predators. The primary threat for whooping cranes in this area is bobcats. Within this fenced-in area is a covered food shelter, where the cranes have access to a pelletized food source. There is an oyster bar within this enclosure which serves as the birds’ roost. This four acre enclosure is not top-netted and the birds can fly in and out during the day. This arrangement allows the cranes to forage
