FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: May 30, 2007
Contact: Debbie Rios-Vanskike
Phone: 734-7184, ext. 1043
Email: dvanskike@sazoo-aq.org

Whoop it Up!

Can I get a whoop for the Zoo’s Bird Department?  Because, once again, the San Antonio Zoo has done its part to help out endangered whooping cranes.  On Friday, April the 13th, bird zookeeper Anita Vincent delivered two whooping crane eggs laid at the Zoo to the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland.  At the Wildlife Research Center, dedicated workers painstakingly raise the chicks.  The workers use special whooping crane costumes so the chicks don’t become too familiar with people and can lead a normal whooping-crane life in the wild.  Whooping cranes are migratory birds, so the team must teach the whooping cranes to fly and to learn the correct migratory path.  This is accomplished through the use of ultralight airplanes.  The chicks are taught to follow the planes, and then are eventually let through a migratory path to their winter homes.  The chick from the San Antonio Zoo is doing well, and will someday begin its own flight!

Thanks to the efforts of whooping-crane conservationists, wild crane populations have increased from only 15 birds in 1941 to almost 180 by 1999.  This is still a far cry from the estimated 1,400 whooping cranes in the wild in 1860, but we are on the right track.  This bird is especially important to Texans because these amazing birds winter on the Texas coast at the Aransas wildlife refuge!

The San Antonio Zoo is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing the highest standard of care for the animal and plant collections while offering a recreational and educational experience for our many visitors.  The Zoo is accredited by the Associations of Zoos and Aquariums and is open 365 days a year.  Gates open at 9 am and close at 5 pm and the grounds remain open until 6 pm.  Admission for children ages 3 – 11 is $7.  Admission for visitors ages 12 and older is $9.  Seniors
over the age of 62 pay a discounted rate of $7 and children two and younger are free.
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Photos courtesy of the San Antonio Zoo.