Whooping crane dies of bird flu

A whooping crane has died of avian influenza. The International Crane Foundation announced that the female crane, which was slated to be released this fall in Wisconsin, died after becoming infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). After being nearly driven to extinction from overhunting, the wildlife professionals brought the species back through captive breeding and reintroduction. “Each whooping crane is invaluable—not only to our organization, but to the survival of the entire species,” said Kim Boardman, the curator of the International Crane Foundation. The now-deceased crane originally hatched this spring and was one of eight cranes slated for release in the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin. While the avian flu killed several thousand sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) in Indiana earlier this year, this is the first known case of whooping crane (Grus americana) mortality from avian flu. Many wild birds carry the HPAI virus in their feces without showing symptoms, which is how the bird was likely exposed to the virus.

Read more at the Associated Press.