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Date: 2025
Authors:
HEATHER A. NERI, Hood College, Frederick, Maryland
GLENN H. OLSEN,USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center
ERIC C. KINDAHL, Hood College, Frederick, Maryland
SUSAN L. CARNEY, Hood College, Frederick, Maryland
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Citation:
Neri, H. A., G. H. Olsen, E. C. Kindahl, and S. L. Carney. 2025. The diets of wild and reintroduced whooping cranes. Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop 16:203-209.
Abstract:
We characterized the diets of the recently established Eastern Migratory Population (EMP) and the extant Aransas-Wood Buffalo Population (AWBP). Starting in 2013, frozen proventriculus and ventriculus contents from previously collected dead whooping cranes from both populations were examined to identify dietary items and quantity. EMP whooping cranes (n = 29) consumed benthic macro-invertebrates, beetles, crabs/crayfish, vegetation, seeds, mollusks, and unidentifiable vertebrates. The diets of AWBP whooping cranes (n = 7) examined included all the same food items except benthic macro-invertebrates. Both populations also consumed a variety of non-food items, including plastic and metal. Our data suggest that the wild and reintroduced whooping crane populations are consuming similar types and amounts of food items to meet their dietary requirements.
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© 2025 North American Crane Working Group
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