Whooping cranes mean more than people.

[fisheye]

Hmm... i did not think that this would be my first post to this forum and i cannot tell you why this has motivated me to engagement, but ok -

I fail to understand the vehemence of the rhetoric regarding this topic. We are talking about a large awkward bird with heavy natural predation and low reproductive rate that was on an apparent population decline when people showed up and started slaughtering them.
There is now a group that has substantial organizational ability and sway to engineer an effort to restore this creature to subsistence within a protected environment. There is some state funding of this endeavor but it is my understanding that it is largely privately funded with government support. To this end i don't see where anyone who is griping about this is being harmed (gubment cheese is cheaper than bullets and shells and guns). The people we see hurting this effort through scofflaw behavior is typically younger with the mentality of 'hey look at that big bird - let's shoot it'. Let's be honest, no one here has ever cooked a whooping crane (except maybe mathgeek lol) to say they are a sought after delicacy.

I personally think it would be so cool to see a five foot bird in the field and would like to see people support this effort with their own private contributions to see if it is viable(recognizing that almost all large animals are dependent on conservation efforts for existence) and if not, then oh well....the species has obviously been supplanted by one more suited to its own preservation - unless there is a no limit sandhill crane season or someone figures out how to put it on the menu of course...

To the argument that particular human life is less valuable than particular animal life...really!? lol

I joined this site to pick up a few fishing tips...looks like i might be a little more entertained

peace