La. whooping crane returned home

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - A Louisiana whooping crane who lost her mate in Jefferson County, TX, was returned home safely last Tuesday.

According to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the female bird, known as L14-17, was found at the location where she had lost her mate last summer. She never attempted to return to Louisiana and instead remained on the territory she and her mate had occupied.

Whooping cranes will often mate for life, but they will accept a new mate if one dies.

With no other whooping cranes in the area, there was no chance of her finding a new mate.

The crane was successfully transported and released by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to the White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area, a wildlife refuge in Louisiana.

A week after her release, she was found displaying some mating behavior with LW5-21, a two-year-old male whooping crane that was hatched in Acadia Parish. While the male is still young, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is hopeful this new pair will remain together.

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