Stuff like this leaves me shaking my head and feeling sick.

There is no excuse to mistake a Whooping Crane with anything else.

Rewards offered for helping catch the cowards, I refuse to call them hunters.

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/OKDWC/bulletins/300e9a1

I hunt sandhill cranes a lot but this bird could not be mistakenly shot.

We have had whooping cranes for several weeks at the lease in the wheat, along with Sandhills all over. It would be hard to mis-identify them unless you are blind or shooting well before legal light.

No mistaking one for the other, much less 4 times. It was deliberate.

Stake and burn the perps.

yes, yes, and yes.

Inbred booger eaters like this make all hunters look bad to the uneducated public. It just gives the anti-hunter crowd more ammo to us against us.

Jeffbird: I share your disgust and nausea!
I am appalled at this act of criminality/cruelty!
One of my fondest outdoor memories was made on an Antelope Hunt years ago near Angela, Montana.
I was sneaking after a small band of Antelope and when I crested a dry wash ridge near a reservoir, Immediately I saw a large flock of Sandhill Cranes on its shore.
In the midst of the Sandhills was a lone "white" Crane and it was jumping up and down with small wing flaps aiding its jumps.
I got my spotting scope on it and verified it was an ultra-rare Whooping Crane!
I watched it for some time and even memorized the colors of the two leg bands on it (baby blue band on the left leg and yellow band on the right!) and reported same in person to the Montana Fish & Game Department a couple days later.
They passed along my sighting to someone (USFWS?).
Again I am appalled at this senseless act of criminality.
Thanks for sharing - I hope the criminal/criminals are caught.
Sad.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

My son was part of a reintroduction program in SW Louisiana near the Rockefeller refuge. The habituation of the first groups was pretty tedious but they finally have some reproducing pairs. They also made educational presentations in schools and local organizations.
Shortly after they were released there were a couple shot by teenagers out “shooting critters”. As usual, a little bragging got them caught because of their educational efforts.

I bet the fines are tough for shooting one.

No excuses for that. Wanton waste is another issue for me.

Hope they are caught. No excuse for this. Hasbeen

If you ever happen to see some and see that they’re wearing bands, note the order of the colors and which legs they’re on.

Think there are only 800 plus living in total.

From the article… “A conviction for killing a whooping crane can carry up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine per person under the Endangered Species Act, and up to six months in jail and a $15,000 fine under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.”

Also from the article… “Whooping cranes are an endangered species with a total population of approximately 500 birds in North America.”

Yep

Our birding group in Florida practically came unglued when they saw a whooper mixed in with a group of sandhills. Whoopers are exceedingly rare. Sandhills however are everywhere and actually a game bird in 16 states. The sandhills are sure a nuisance and too tame around people. They peck our windows and the car when they see their reflection. Hope they catch the whooper shooter.

There is there, and there is not there!

on the Sandies summer nesting ground on the Slope and down Kotzebue way it's tough to get within rifle shot . I have tried, unsuccesfully. Likely doing it wrong, but dang they have good eyes!

once they get to the Delta barley fields they can be pass shot with a bit of planning, I hear I frequently see them in people's yards down Homer way in the summer.

always wanted to shoot and eat one. Swan too.

I usually have a pair nest in the swamp over the hill - I love hearing their call

While elk hunting a few weeks ago, I had 2 flights of trumpeter swans fly by me. They're the closest thing I know of to resemble whooping cranes but it doesn't take much effort to tell them apart. We have a very limited hunting season on the swans.