— A man who admitted that he and a juvenile shot and killed two whooping cranes in 2016 must pay $85,000 and cannot hunt until he completes 360 hours of public service. Whooping cranes are among the world’s rarest birds, and are the largest crane in North America. The 850 or so alive today all descended from 15 that lived in coastal Texas in the 1940s. When released as juveniles, they are mottled brown and white. As adults, they’re about 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall, white with black wingtips and have nearly featherless red caps.

Source: International New York Times July 31, 2020 20:26 UTC