The Audubon Nature Institute announced four young whooping cranes were released into White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area as part of an ongoing effort to protect the endangered species from extinction.
The four chicks were hatched and reared at Freeport-McMoRan Audubon Species Survival Center in New Orleans. This is the fourth year Audubon has released cranes in the Louisiana wild.
This year's chicks were named after "natural phenomena" including Blizzard, Hurricane, Lava, and Aurora.
"These four chicks represent a major comeback for our program," said Freeport-McMoRan Audubon Species Survival Center Assistant Curator Richard Dunn. "We are so pleased to have bounced back after not being able to produce eggs or release cranes during the peak of the pandemic."
The birds will be monitored by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
"We continue to see progress in our whooping crane population project despite the setback from the pandemic,'' said LDWF Secretary Jack Montoucet."Adding four more cranes, coupled with the cranes hatched in the wild last spring, is a positive step in our effort. We thank Chevron and our other corporate partners, along with Audubon, in our effort to restore this special bird to Louisiana.''
