Whooping Crane Killer Convicted

Nature/Outdoors

By Jake Richardson

In rural Indiana a local citizen was convicted of shooting an endangered whooping crane and sentenced March 30, 2011. The conviction resulted in part from a local resident who called in a tip to the authorities. Reports from the public do play a role identifying individuals who injure or kill wildlife illegally. A special agent from the Fish and Wildlife Service said, “People who live in an area notice details that can tell us a lot. They sometimes see something or hear something that strikes them as unusual but not necessarily criminal. People might not realize that their observation is significant.” (Source: FWS.gov) Defenders of Wildlife and the Indiana Turn in a Poacher program combined their funds to offer a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrator.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the Fish and Wildlife Service investigated the shooting of the crane, which took place in 2009. The bird that was killed was the matriarch for a group of Whooping Cranes that were on their natural migration south to their winter grounds...... Continue reading.