Some "hunter," and I use that term loosely, shot a Whooping Crane in Aransas Bay.

There is a reward of $27,500.

Time to police our own.

http://www.savingcranes.org/whats-new/2015/02/5307/

http://www.fws.gov/southwest/docs/WhoopingCraneReward_NR_020315.pdf

Wish I knew!

Me too. I'd turn my Mom in for that kinda money!


J/K Mom.

we all know he would be choking that crane

Is this the same one reported on here earlier?

Sad but true.

Just got back from Rockport and had seen 6 cranes together, right off the bay. Majestic birds. Hope they catch the idiot.

I looked it up and it was in migratory bird section. Yes, same bird. Reward money is now being added to the investigation.



Concur.

27,500.00 for a bird! It is bad one got shot but that is ridiculous.

The county judge of Aransas County has testified under oath that the Whooping Cranes and refuge generate millions a year in tax revenue to Aransas County and the refuge is critical to the health of the bay and economy dependent on it which is worth tens of millions a year and hundreds of millions in property value.

So, no it is not a ridiculous amount in comparison.

If the Whooping Cranes were not there, the refuge would not be there. It would be just another stretch of coast with chemical plants, shopping strips, and some weekend homes and a bay comparable in recreation, hunting, fishing and seafood quality to Lavaca or Nueces Bay.

Given that the "hunter" is hiding, expect to see a vigorous prosecution if he is caught rather than him stepping up and owning what probably was an honest mistake. With the money coming to the table, will be interesting to see if one of his friends turns him out or he cracks from worrying about whether his friends will turn him in.

If it was an honest mistake I'm sure he will keep mum about it and hope not to do it again

Guarantee he told someone. And who goes duck hunting alone in the bay?

Maybe he thought it was a goose

Maybe he doesn't realize he shot it. I'm assuming it was found away from the hunter.

Please excuse my ignorance but why would you even shoot a crane down there? Do sandhill's migrate to the coast?

So shooting a bird that is 5 feet tall falls under the category of an honest mistake how? WTF could you possibly mistake a man size bird for?

Yep

Exactly. No way he didn't know what it was. Stunts like that will getting hunting banned from the area.

No sense in this, hope they catch the bum.

Gotta agree with the OP's statement, this is a situation where policing our own is super important.

If I picked a whooping crane out of a lineup it would be pure luck. I don't know what they look like.

While it's sad a whooper died. Their existence has nothing to do with get hunting banned down there.

Yea but I guarantee you it will be used as ammunition against hunting in the area.

Wonder if the guy that shot it gets the reward if he turns himself in?