Research Paper

Threatened Whooping Crane

In “Whooping crane makes dramatic come back,” Zaleski (2007) states that whooping crane is known as not only the tallest migratory bird in Northwest America but also one of the most endangered. In the late 1800s, there were about 1,500 birds in Western Canada and the U.S. The cranes numbered just over 20 in 1940. The main reason of their death is crashing with power lines during migration. In addition, the conversion of wetlands and grasslands to agriculture and the draining of wetlands are also important causes of extinction. Moreover, they can’t breed widely originally and also their nests are destroyed by human activities. By having these problems happen all at the same time, their lives are threatened more and more. Now, they can’t increase their population by themselves so they need our help. Also we have to take responsibility for this problem because human has surely destroyed their lives.

In “The end of the road; There is something truly magical about animal migration, Anne McIlroy reports, But human activity threatens to grind it to a halt”, McIlroy (2008) writes that Dr. Wilcove argues endangered animals deserve special attention and people should push to preserve forest from development. Since 1938, organizations such as International Crane Foundation, the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, and the Calgary Zoo discovered various solutions to help them. Therefore this resulted in a slow increase, but it’s not enough to get whooping crane off the endangered list yet. Also it’s unsure if the population is recovered or not. The reason the methods which we tried already can’t make it increase definitely is that we have never reconsidered what we do to their lives. Unless we admit our faults and try to improve, their complete recovery will be difficult. Then in making their recovery real, as Dr. Wilcove states, we should remove threats from their lives and keep them away from extinction.

First, we should stop invasion of their habitats. In “Habit Restoration,” the author states “One of the biggest threats to whooping cranes is the destruction of habitat. The cranes have a very sensitive ecosystem, and the smallest change can become deadly” (Whooping Crane Home Page, n.d, para.1). Over many years, we have destroyed whooping cranes’ habitats by deforestation or exploitation of wetlands and grasslands where they breed. In “The Cranes” the authors state, “Because few crane species depend heavily upon forested habitats, deforestation does not usually pose a serious direct threat to cranes, however, because deforestation has long-term and far-reaching impacts upon watershed hydrology, and hence on wetlands, deforestation can be considered a significant indirect threat” (Meine and Archibald, 1996, para. 9). Also, their stopovers are decreasing so they can’t rest during migration and get to the destination. The loss of habitats means they can’t get foods. In addition, on their routes for migration, power lines threaten whooping cranes. It’s the most serious threat for whooping cranes which migrate to different habitats. In “Wild Farms Threaten Endangered Whooping Crane” (Redorbit News, 2008), the author claims that the number of whooping cranes which die because of crashing into wind turbines is increasing. They did not use to die because of it. Now, crashing into power line and wind turbines is a common cause of death. These factors are enough to make them extinction. They are losing places to breed, live, migrate, and rest during migration because of our invasion even now. Organizations are trying to create new habitats for them, but habitat destruction is faster than habitat creation. So the only one way to save their habitats is stop excessive invasion and keep them safe.

Second, we should solve the problem of water pollution. In “Whooping crane” (International Crane Foundation, n.d.), the author states that polluted water from oil and chemicals affects their habitat and food supply. Also, much of the freight consists of petrochemical products that are conveyed near their habitats. Contaminants have been detected in the waters of the refugees, and small-scale spills have occurred in the past. In “The cranes, Threats: Habitat Loss and Degradation” the author states “For example, barges loaded with benzene, xylene, and other toxic substances traverse the Gulf Intercoastal Waterway near the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on a daily basis; even one spill in this area could have a devastating impact on the Whooping Cranes and their habitat” (Meine and Archibald, 1996, para.13). Of course, fresh water is essential for them because they need to stay in water at night to feel safe from predators during migration. From polluted water, they will die or get diseases. Changes of their water quality influence their lives greatly. In addition, they can’t recover from pollution by themselves and it’s also difficult for us to remove the pollution. However, water pollution has been caused by human activities, not birds and nature. They can’t struggle against water pollution and they are just dying out. As soon as possible, we have to supply them with fresh water.

Finally, we should breed them and teach them how to live in wildlife. In “Removing egg from nest may help save endangered whooping crane” (Inventions report, 2005) the author states that they usually have only one chick because they have a habit that one chick eats another chick. So the rate of breeding is not high originally. In addition, there are a lot of predators. Some whooping cranes are killed regardless of whether they are adults or chicks. They have the risk of being killed by predators anytime. Next, the number of whooping cranes has to increase quickly. One reason is that they are still listed as an endangered bird. Another reason is that decrease is faster than increase. Now, the number of whooping crane is increasing but the speed is not enough. Moreover, in “After Long Struggle, Whooping Crane Population Hits Milestone,” Moreno (2006) says that some organizations succeeded in breeding whooping crane. They are usually taught how to migrate by parents so whooping crane which are bred by humans need to be taught it by humans. In fact, organizations lead them to their destination by gliders.

On the other hand, some people feel that it’s impossible to save and improve crane’s life. Over many years, we have tried to look for solutions and solve the problem. However, the problem of animal’s extinction isn’t improved and continues to get worse and worse. Even if the problem is solved, it recurs soon because humans never stop developing their lives. New technologies are regarded as one of effective solutions, but they can cause other problems and the situation becomes more complicated. Indeed, it’s difficult not to affect the animal’s life at all because we need to exploit the natural world. However, if we continue to destroy it or invade it too much without thinking about animal’s life, endangered animals happen as well as whooping crane. It can get worse unlimitedly. Someday humans can be influenced by destruction of ecosystem. We have only way that we should restrain our development to save animal’s life. We have to leave some wild areas and keep them safe, instead of destroying them. As a result, they will cause other problems and the situation will become more complicated. We have to know that it’s impossible that we develop our lives and keep animals’ lives safe at the same time. If we don’t give up some development in our lives, we will never save animals’ lives.

In conclusion, we need to reconsider endangered birds’ lives. They are threatened by our activities and they can’t do anything about it. If humans have not disturbed their lives, they would not have to be threatened. Now they require our help and we have to save and keep them away from extinction forever. Indeed it’s hard and costly to solve and continue to take care of them, but it’s our responsibility. We can say that some opinions of our opponents are not wrong, because we can solve the problem of animal’s extinction more efficiently by stopping our harmful activities for animals. We can either plunge them into extinction or keep them safe, as whooping crane almost died out and they are increasing again slowly. It’s not a big result, but if we continue efforts, we can see humans and animals coexisting someday.

References

Inventions report (2005, November 23). Removing egg from nest may help save endangered whooping crane. Retrieved October 31, 2008, from http://www.innovations-report.de/html/berichte/umwelt_naturschutz/bericht-52057.html

International Crane Foundation (n.d.). Whooping crane. Retrieved November 8, 2008, from http://www.savingcranes.org/whoopingcrane.html

McIlroy, A. (2008, March 29). The end of the road; There is something truly magical about animal migration, Anne McIlroy reports, But human activity threatens to grind it to a halt. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 8, 2008, from LexisNexis.

Meine, C. and Archibald, G. (1996) The Cranes. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center USGS. Retrieved December 1, 2008, from http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/cranes/habitat.html

Moreno, S. (2006, December 26). After Long Struggle, Whooping Crane Population Hits Milestone. The Washington Post. Retrieved October 31, 2008, from Lexis Nexis.

Redorbit News. (2008, February 29). Wind Farms Threaten Endangered Whooping Crane. Retrieved December 1, 2008, from http://www.redorbit.com/news/display/?id=1275521

Whooping Crane Home Page (n.d.). Habitat Restoration. Retrieved November 8, 2008, from http://library.thinkquest.org/07aug/01259/Site/Habitat%20Restoration.html

Zaleski, O. (2007, December 22). Whooping Crane Makes Dramatic Come Back. The Daily Green. Retrieved October 31, 2008, from http://thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/whooping-cranes-47122201?click=main_sr