posted 07-02-2001 09:56 PM         

DaimlerChrysler is contributing to the program to re-establish a population of migrating whooping cranes in the eastern United States. The whooping crane is the tallest bird in North America, standing five-and-a-half feet tall, and is also one of the world's rarest birds.

``Americans love the outdoors and cherish their environmental heritage. And our Dodge, Jeep® and Chrysler products are an integral part of our customers' active lifestyle,'' said Bernard I. Robertson, Senior Vice President - Engineering Technologies & Regulatory Affairs and General Manager - Truck Operations at DaimlerChrysler.

``So it is natural that we would want to join the effort to save these magnificent birds for future generations of Americans to admire and enjoy.''

Today's ceremony at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland, marked successful rearing of 10 whooping crane chicks from eggs. They will next be transferred to the Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin where they will continue to mature. At the same time, a team of wildlife recovery experts will condition the young birds to follow ultralight aircraft.

In late fall of this year, the birds will be led by ultralight aircraft on their migratory route to their winter nesting grounds in the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

DaimlerChrysler will provide chase vehicles for the ground team accompanying the birds on their 1,250 mile migratory route. The vehicles will include a minivan to accommodate the biologists, veterinarians and their gear and two four-wheel drive vehicles to provide off-road capability should the need arise to locate the birds in remote areas.

The entire process was successfully tested last year, using a population of sandhill cranes. Ten of the eleven sandhill cranes returned on their own to their nesting ground in Wisconsin after a similar migration with ultralight aircraft, giving further hopes for a successful whooping crane experiment.

The birds faced extinction just 60 years ago when only 15 wild whooping cranes remained in the United States, and all eastern migratory whooping cranes had been eliminated. Today there are 384 whooping cranes in North America -- 174 in the only existing migratory flock which breeds in Canada and winters in Texas, 86 non-migratory birds in central Florida, 120 in captivity and two in the Rocky Mountains.

The program to establish a second migrating population of whooping cranes would make the birds less vulnerable to extinction should disease or a natural disaster destroy one of the existing populations.

The effort to re-establish migratory and non-migratory populations of whooping cranes in the eastern United States is a 10-year project including several Federal and state agencies and private conservation organizations.