10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

Nationwide, wildlife watchers now outspend hunters 6 to 1. Just ask Bill Taddicken, director of the Lillian Annette Rowe Sanctuary on the Platte River in Kearney. I’ve received letters and emails from a number of avid hunters who find the concept of shooting cranes repugnant.

2011 261

2011 Kentucky Tennessee Hunting 261

10,000 Birds

MARCH 20, 2011

So, one might surmise, it’s OK if they get shot by hunters thinking they’re sandhill cranes? What could motivate gunmen (I cannot call them hunters) in two states to deliberately kill North America’s tallest and most critically endangered bird? Do all hunters realize that? It gives one to wonder why this designation was made.

2011 244

2011 Hunting Kentucky Hunters 244

10,000 Birds

APRIL 15, 2015

We actually spent considerable time searching unsuccessfully for this highly sought-after bird; however I did suspect they were not gone, as several hunters I interviewed knew the bird and claimed it still existed. Whilst in Atewa Range Forest Reserve, a hunter passed us deep in the forest and I asked him to show us his night’s catch.

Ghana 211

Ghana Hunters Guinea Gambia 211