Major Reward Offered For Information in Shooting of Whooping Crane in South Louisiana

A major reward is now being offered to the person who leads authorities to the person(s) responsible for shooting and killing a whooping crane in South Louisiana.

KLFY-TV reports that a whooping crane died as a result of being shot and the the shooting happened in a pond near Mamou, Louisiana.

Officials with the Center for Biological Diversity said that the juvenile whooping crane was found on Jan. 9th in an agricultural pond near Besi Lane in Mamou.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service initially offered a $5,000 reward for information in this case, but since then have added $10,000 to the reward offered. So yes, the reward to anyone with information about the shooting is $15,000.

KLFY says, "The whooping crane is listed as an endangered species protected under both the Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Act."

Many who follow and study these birds say not only are they beautiful, but there is no need to shoot such a bird.

If you have any information in this case you can call U.S.. Fish and Wildlife Service at 985-882-3756. To provide information to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries at 337-491-2588.

An interesting fact about the whopping crane is that it is the tallest bird in North America. At one point they estimated that there were only 40 left in the wild, since then, that number has risen to several hundred.