Endangered whooping crane rescued from residential neighborhood in Chicago suburbs
WILMETTE, Ill. (CBS) -- Wildlife experts successfully rescued a whooping crane that was found in a residential rea in north suburban Wilmette this week.
Birder Scott Judd shared photos of the rescue of what he described a young, federally-endangered crane that looked exhausted on Tuesday afternoon.
Judd, of the Chicago Ornithological Society, wrote that Brad Semel of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources rushed to the scene – and helped to figure out an action plan. A team from the International Crane Foundation drove three hours at a moment's notice, Judd wrote. The crane foundation's Hillary Thompson dressed up in a special suit to imitate a mother bird. Once the crane was lured close enough, the rescuers were able to grab the bird and get her to a safer place.
The rescue was completed around 3:30 p.m., nearly eight hours after the bird was first spotted, Judd wrote.
The bird, a female, is named Animal, according to the International Crane Foundation. She is part of the Eastern Migratory Population of reintroduced whooping cranes, and Judd wrote all of her brood has names honoring the Muppets.
After a veterinary assessment, the crane was released at Horicon Marsh in eastern Wisconsin, according to the foundation.
Whooping cranes are one of the rarest and most endangered birds in North America. The foundation reports there are only an estimated 831 globally.
