Crane Conservation Department animal record-keeping system gets an upgrade
With support from an Institute of Museum and Library Services grant, our Crane Conservation Department recently completed a data migration of their animal record-keeping system from an aging custom-built database to ZIMS – Zoological Information Management System, a web-based database program managed by Species360.
Our monthly summary of media stories highlighting the International Crane Foundation’s global programs.
Six wild-hatched Whooping Crane chicks in Wisconsin survived to flight stage in 2018, the most since the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership began restoring a migratory population of the endangered birds in the eastern United States.
The good news comes as the number of endangered wild Whooping Cranes in the west topped the 500 mark, with an estimated 505 Whoopers in a population that migrates from nesting grounds at Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada to winter habitat in Aransas, Texas.
“The haunting calls of the world’s cranes are sadder today because they have lost a devoted friend, and the conservation community has lost a true hero.” ~ Kenneth Strom, National Audubon Society
On September 19, 2018, we lost a dear friend and champion for the conservation of cranes and wetlands, Jim Harris.
Media contact: Andy Bingle, Interpretive Programs Manager, 608-356-9462 ext. 108
Baraboo, WI – Painter Ellen McGaughey of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, is the featured artist Saturday, Oct. 6, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., for the International Crane Foundation’s Cranes and Culture Art Series.
Periwinkle two days following her surgery!
Periwinkle, a 7-year-old female Blue Crane, received a life-saving surgery at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) recently. In May, International Crane Foundation aviculturists found Periwinkle in respiratory distress while choking on a pebble from her enclosure. Dr. Barry Hartup, the foundation’s Director of Conservation Medicine and SVM Clinical Instructor of Zoological Medicine, performed a tracheostomy and successfully removed the pebble from the airway so Periwinkle could breathe. Though Periwinkle healed outwardly from the surgery, her respiratory distress returned after six weeks in early July
Media contact: Andy Bingle, Interpretive Programs Manager, 608-356-9462 ext. 108
Baraboo, WI – Kim Russell is the featured artist Saturday, June 16, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., for the International Crane Foundation’s continuing Cranes and Culture Art Series.
Senior Aviculturist Kyle Tainter carefully holds Siberian Crane Ranjit while Barry treats the cranes’ left leg, which has advanced arthritis.
The International Crane Foundation supports a full-time veterinary team and comprehensive health care program for our captive crane population. We have made advancements in the areas of animal husbandry and avian veterinary medicine, and in turn contributed to longer lifespans among captive cranes, here and elsewhere. With increases in age come more geriatric medical conditions, including osteoarthritis, cancer and cardiovascular disease. The most common of these issues in our captive crane population is osteoarthritis – affecting 10% of our current flock – which unfortunately has no cure.
