An impressive gathering of Whooping Cranes striding across the Louisiana landscape on January 3, 2020 – all part of the reintroduced non-migratory population in Louisiana. Photo by Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Enforcement Division is seeking information on the shooting death of an endangered Whooping Crane in Jefferson Davis Parish in November 2019.  Agents said the dead crane was found in a rice and crawfish field in the town of Elton, off Elton Drive in Jefferson Davis Parish on November 15, 2019. However, a necropsy determined that it had been killed by gunshot a day or two before being found.  Known to biologists as L11-18, the 1.5-year-old male Whooping Crane had been released as part of the December 2018 cohort.

Up to $10,000 is being offered by various groups for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the illegal shooting of this whooping crane.  The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation is offering up to a $2,500 reward.  LDWF’s Operation Game Thief program and the Whooping Crane Conservation Association are each offering a reward of up to $1,000.  LDWF also received a private $5,000 donation from Dave Weeshoff of La Crescenta, California, and a $500 donation for the reward from the International Crane Foundation.

Anyone witnessing suspicious activity involving Whooping Cranes is advised to call the LDWF’s Enforcement Division at 1-800-442-2511 or use the tip411 program, which may offer a cash reward for information leading to arrests or convictions.