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By Harriette Halepis

Source acquired via The Independent, April, 5, 2010 – In 2009, three dozen whooping cranes died during migration. Today, only five-hundred whopping cranes exist within North America. Simply put, the whopping crane is about to become a thing of the past – unless researchers can figure out why these birds are dying in large numbers.

Tracking Wildlife

The best way to find out what’s killing whopping cranes is to record every action that whooping cranes make. Prior to the invention of GPS technology, this kind of information would have been impossible to decipher. Now that GPS technology is readily available, researching can track whopping crane flocks before, during, and after migration.

Ecologist Karine Gil believes that GPS technology is the answer to prevent crane extinction. Still, in order to find out why these birds are dying, Gil simply needs “…to know more.” By outfitting certain birds with identification rings, researchers at the Crane Trust in Nebraska can monitor every movement the birds make.

In order to capture the animals, ecologists use a rope contraption that does not cause panic, yet allows researchers to tag each bird. The GPS tracking devices that are attached to each crane subject are solar-powered, and each weighs no more than 3 ounces. While the GPS trackers do not harm the birds, the information gathered by the trackers is crucial.

By closely studying the habits of whooping cranes, Gil hopes that the flock will double in size. The birds were able to grow significantly during the 1980s, which leads researchers to believe that growth can happen once again. Thanks to GPS technology, researchers such as Karine Gil can find out what’s bothering whooping cranes, and attempt to fix any major problems.

Even though whooping cranes are an endangered species, GPS Tracking may be able to save this species from becoming extinct. Tracking projects such as the one that Karine Gil is conducting gives other researchers hope that some animals may not have to face extinction. While preventing extinction seemed impossible many years ago, this is no longer the case now that GPS tracking is available to wildlife researchers.