OPERATION: Save the Whooping Cranes
A play in three acts written by Alameda Elementary School Wild Friends, and their teacher, Naomi Julian, Albuquerque, NM Based on students' reseach into actual events that occurred in 1997. Performed in a variety of settings in New Mexico, including the New Mexico Wildlife Summit, April 22, 1998, and the National Watchable Wildlife Conference in early 1999.

Cast of Characters

Wendy Whooper Sally Sandhill Tom Stehn Eric Narrator Kent Clegg Errol Spaulding Scott Macbush Whooper 1 Whooper 2 Whooper 3 Whooper 4 Sandhill 1 Sandhill 2 Sandhill 3 Sandhill 4

Sandhill 5 Sandhill 6 Sandhill 7 Sandhill 8 Eagle 1 Eagle 2 Eagle 4 Navajo Man Navajo Women Hunter Bobcat Coyote Mature Whooper 1 Mature Whooper 2

Sally: Well, this is certainly strange! I could swear that I had two eggs when I left this morning and now there=s one. (She waddles around examining the eggs) This is kind of odd. Oh well, I guess I=ll sit on this one. (She fluffs her feathers and sits.)

Wendy: Well I declare! I was sure there were two eggs here when I left this morning and now there is one. (Puzzled, she settles gracefully on her egg and fluffs her feathers).

Tom: (He Sits.) Now all we have to do is wait. We can=t fail. There are so few whoopers left.

Eric: (Enters the room from the right) Don=t worry so much Tom. You know those chicks are considered non-essential and experimental. If we lose them we won=t endanger the survival of the species.

Tom: (Pacing nervously) This species is already on the brink of extinction. What do we have -- one flock of 230 Whoopers in Texas and a small non-migratory flock in Florida? That=s nothing. They are so vulnerable to any kind of accident. An oil spill could wipe out he entire flock! We must succeed!

Eric: I know Tom. I want to save them too. The question in my mind right now is whom are these Whooper chicks going to imprint on? You know, it= the first animal or human they see -- that=s who they think their mom or dad is. It can=t be me -- I have my own wife and kids. I don=t have the time or energy to be mommy to these babies.

Tom: What about Kent, that rancher in Idaho who=s been raising sandhills? They think he=s their father. He=s on contract with Fish and Wildlife. Maybe we can get him here when the chicks hatch.

Eric: That=s a great idea. He=s the one who=s been teaching sandhills a migration route from Idaho to New Mexico. He flies an ultralight and they follow him. Maybe the whoopers could fly with the sandhills. We could diversify the flock that way. If some disaster happens to our Texas flock, we wouldn=t lose the species.

Tom: (Getting out his phone) Let=s call him now.

Narrator: Welcome to Patuxent Wildlife Center. We are in the middle of an effort to save the whooping crane from extinction. These beautiful white birds are nearly six feet tall. They have had many enemies û hunters, electrical lines, low-flying aircraft, pollution, habitat destruction and natural predators such as eagles.

Whooper 1: Peck, peck, peck. Gosh this is hard work.

Whooper 2: I=m so tired. This is taking forever.

Kent: (Cooing while pacing like an expectant father) Come on little chicks, you can do it. I=m here for you!

Whooper 1: (His beak is sticking out) Peck, peck, peck. Oh, I can see the light. I can feel the shell cracking. I=m out! I=m out!

Whooper 3: (Pecking harder then poking out beak and head.) Hear that? It=s our brother! He=s hatched, too!

Whooper 4: It=s a beautiful world out here. I=m free! I=m free!

All Four Whoopers: DADDY! (They all rush to Kent who stoops to pet all their heads. They jump into his lap and he holds them.)

Narrator: Our mission was to help eight sandhills and four whooping cranes learn the migration route from Idaho to Bosque del Apache refuge in New Mexico, where thousands of birds= winter safely each year. By leading them with an ultralight flown by Kent, we hoped to guide them safely through the dangers of their journey. They think Kent is their father, so they follow behind him -- sometimes.

Sandhill 1: What=s Kent doing? (Points to Kent) It looks like they=re packing their bags -- going on a vacation or something. I hope he doesn=t forget about us.

Whooper 1: He can=t forget about us -- I mean we=re endangered! We need to stay close to him. He needs to stay close to us.

Sandhill 1: No way he=s going to forget us. He raised us, remember? I=m certain he=s planning to take us along. That explains all those practice flights.

Whooper 1: Yeah, you=re probably right. But I think we should go tell the others.

Sandhill 1: Hey guys, Kent seems to be getting ready to go on some kind of trip.

Sandhill 2: Did you hear them talking?

Sandhill 1: No, but they=re packing the ultralight.

Sandhill 3: You know it=s getting quite cold here. I=d be in favor of going along if he is going somewhere warm.

Kent: (Walking over to the birds) We=re getting ready to leave Idaho for the winter. It=s getting cold up here and we=re taking you south to a wildlife refuge. I think you=ll like it. There are lots of grain fields and wetland and your are protected as long as you stay on the refuge land.

Sandhill 3: You can count me in. I have a feeling in my bones I should be flying south.

Errol: (Points upwards to the birds) They=re all up -- what a beautiful sight. The sandhills and whoopers are flying together. (Kent and the bird=s circle around the stage while Scott and Errol watch to the side)

Sandhill 4: Flying is fun but I don=t want to leave here. This is my home. I=m going back. (Leaves flock)

Scott: (Talks into a radio) Kent can you hear me? One of the sandhills flew back to the farm.

Whooper 4: I=m going back too. This is scary. The farm is our home.

Whooper 3: I=m with you. Let=s go back. (All the whoopers turn around and fly back)

Scott: Kent, we=ve lost the whoopers. One of them broke formation and they all followed her.

Kent: I=m coming down. We=ll have to drive the birds to an unfamiliar place to start off. This is the only home they=ve ever known and they don=t want to leave it.

Scott: I guess you=re right. Well we got about one mile today. I hope the whole trip isn=t like this.

Errol: Once we get them away from here it will get better. Let=s pen them, drive them a ways and then call it a day. We=ll take off from there tomorrow.

Narrator: The birds are driven several miles, and then penned for the night.

Scott: I better check the pens and make sure the birds are safe. (Talking to birds) Are you OK? (Gentle warbling sound) Yeah, you are. The pens are tight. I wonder why owls are so scary. They always spook me. (He walks off stage)

Narrator: The next day was uneventful. On the third day we spotted our first eagle. Kent was flying in front with the birds, making good time. The sky was clear and the sun was warm with Indian summer.

Kent: Errol, isn=t it incredible up here? High above the world, and flying in formation with natural aviators. The cranes are flying strong today. How are you doing?

Errol: I=m on eagle patrol -- trying to head off this golden eagle. He=s a stubborn one -- he keeps working towards the cranes. Watch this. I=m going to dive to see if I can cut him off. (He dives, and then banks back up. An eagle is flying in front of him. Suddenly there=s a shot and a small cloud of smoke.)

Kent: What was that?

Errol: This eagle won=t take no for an answer. I had to scare him off with one of these cracker shells. Seems to be working though. (The eagle flies to the other side of the stage. Before leaving, he looks and talks to the audience.)

Eagle 4: Is this fair, I ask you? I=m a predator. That=s how I earn my living. And it=s not just for me. I=ve got little ones to feed. The comes this guy with a plane, trying to keep me away from my natural prey, shooting one of those cracker things. I need to eat too! (Looking disgusted, and he flies off stage.)

Narrator: The rest of day three ended peacefully. But on day four, we encountered our first big danger. We took off from Price, Utah. It=s very important for the cranes to stay together in formation. But for some reason, the whoopers were staying back and seemed to be holding their own party.

Whooper 1: (Singing) Nobody knows how dry I am. (Hiccups) Nobody knowsss.

Whooper 2: Hey, Humans! (Pointing)

Whooper 3: Let=s fly down!

All whoopers: Yeah, lets go!

Whooper 4: Look at that nice flat spot. I=m going to land!

Eagle I: (Points to whoopers) Yummm. That looks like food. Oh, it=s Kent and his birds again. And he has four whooping cranes with him. That big juicy plump one looks quite satisfying. (Gives an evil sounding laugh)

Eagle II: The cranes are having a party this year. They=re not paying attention. Perfect, lunch is served.

Eagle I: Should we bake it, fry it, barbecue it or shishkabob it? Nah, let=s eat it raw.

Kent: (Talks into radio) Careful, Errol. The same eagle has attacked here for the past three years.

Errol: (Talks into radio) I think it=s gone now. It would have attacked by now.

Kent: I guess you=re right. Oh no! One of the whoopers landed on the road. We have to circle and pick her up.

Eagle I: Oh look! One of the whooping cranes has landed. I see a breakfast buffet.

Eagle II: May I see a menu?

Eagle I: Our main menu today is whooping crane soup, sandhill sandwich and for desert we have whooping crane pie and sandhill ice cream.

Eagle II: That sounds good. I=ll give the signal. Ready, setàGo! SREECH!!! (Eagle I swoops down and knocks Whooper 4 over, then circles around to return)

Kent: (Pointing and shouting) EAGLE ATTACK!!!!

Whooper 1: Oh no! He=s hit our sister!

Whooper 4: Kent, help me, I=ve been hit! I can=t breathe. I=m hurt. Kent, come help me (Eagle II swoops in and grabs Whooper 4. He starts pulling Whooper 4 off stage.)

Eagle II: Now I=ve got my lunch. SCREECH!

Kent: Errol, get the eagle fast! It=s going to injure one of my birds! (Kent comes in from one direction. Errol from the other.)

Errol: OK, I=ll try. I=m closing in on them. (Errol moves close to the eagle) Drop that bird, bird! (They collide, and eagle drops crane into the plane and flies away)

Eagle II: I dropped my lunch! SCREECH! (Eagles back away)

Kent: Errol, is she OK?

Errol: (He is bending over Whooper 4) She=s hurt! There is blood dripping from her leg. I=ve got to find a vet. I=m going to find an airport and land.

Whooper 4: (Groaning and whimpering) I don=t feel good. Where am I? Who am I? Who are you?? (Errol helps Whooper 4 leave stage to the right with whooper 4 moaning and limping)

Eagle I: I=ll see you next year Kent! SCREECH! (Sounding disgusted and he and Eagle 2 start to fly off stage to the left) Bones again for lunch. Yuck.

Kent: OK whoopers, let=s go. And stay close to me this time. (They fly off stage to the right)

Narrator: Whew! That was a close one. Errol got the whooping crane to a vet, who bandaged her leg. Errol then joined Kent and the rest of the birds near Moab for the night. On Day 6, we flew into New Mexico over the beautiful sandstone formation called Shiprock. But we ran into a problem we hadn=t encountered before when we landed on the Navajo Reservation.

Navajo Man: Hey what are you doing on our land?

Navajo Woman: This here is OUR land. Who do you think you are landing your airplane on our land?

Kent: I=m sorry. But we are helping these birds migrate form Idaho to New Mexico. The whoopers are endangered. (They come running up to Kent and he pets them) We raised the sandhills, too. They follow me. We=re taking them to the Bosque new Socorro, where we hope the whoopers can find mates.

Navajo Man: (Pauses before speaking) Oh, pardon me. I didn=t know. (Pauses again) It=s a good thing, you=re doing.

Navajo Women: They are part of Mother Earth, just as we are. You must make yourself at home. You can stay on the reservation as long as you want.

Narrator: The flock continues flying over New Mexico. On day 7, the weather looks like it=s going to be another nice day.

Sandhill 5: (Between bites) This is good weather. I think we=ll have great flying today.

Sandhill 6: Yeah. (She starts pecking on the yellow band around her leg) But right now I want this thing OFF! It=s way too small for me.

Sandhill 7; Same goes for me. (He lifts up his leg, then sets it down and starts pecking at it)

Sandhill 8: Stop that! Now what if you get into trouble. No one will know where your are!! The yellow bands help humans study how we live, so they can help make the earth a better place for cranes.

Sandhill 6: Aaah. Mine just made a sound! What is this anyway?

Sandhill 8: It=s also a transmitter. That means Kent can find us if we get lost. And we can talk to each other.

Sandhill 5: Oh well, let=s go see Kent.

Narrator: Well, the trip was just about done. It=s day nine, and the cranes have just a short flight till they land at the bosque. The major challenges over the next few days would be to get the cranes to feed and roost with the wild ones. Kent will be watching everyday to make sure they adapt and learn how to avoid the danger of coyotes and bobcats.

Whooper 1: Mission accomplished!!

Whooper 2: It was harder than I expected but we did it!!

Sandhill 3: And look at all those cranes! (The sound of cranes can be heard in the background. It gets louder and louder.) There are thousands of them.

Sandhill 4: And look at all those people and cars. And they are taking pictures of us. We=re going to be on TV! I bet that=s good coverage to tell people about the plight of the whooping cranes.

Sandhill 5: Yeah, yeah. But check out that pond. I=ll race you to the water.

Sandhill 3: OK. Ready, set, go!

All the cranes: WE MADE IT!! YEAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Sandhill 6: (Steps forward with lawn chair and sunglasses.) It=s hard to imagine. Eight hundred miles in eight days. From the cold and snow of Idaho, to the warmth of New Mexico. (Pulls out sunglasses and beach chair and sits, starting to sunbathe) Yesss, this is the life.

Narrator: I wish I could say that all of the birds arrived at the bosque and lived happily ever after. Unfortunately life is not like that. Kent=s cranes enjoyed their new home but not all of them listened to their new friends.

Mature Whooper 1: You guys must stay with our flock. We don=t want any of you flying away because there are a lot of hunters around here.

Mature Whooper 2: Yeah. I almost got shot by one but realized I was safe when I landed on bosque land.

Sandhill 5: (Ignoring the other birds, starts to walk away from them toward the right front of the stage) MMM, tasty plants. I love plants so I=ll just go over here and get some and bring them back. I=ll just be a minute.

Mature Whooper 1: Hey, come back here. You can=t go over there. There=s a hunter! You=re going to get yourself killed! Get back here!

Hunter: (Walks on stage with a gun from left) Hey, there=s a crane on my property. (Points his gun and shoots) I got him!! I could cook him and have him for dinner. (Sandhill 5 falls down)

Kent: (Walks on stage from the left) Hey, mister. Has a crane come over here by any chance?

Hunter: Uh. That was your crane?

Kent: Did it have a yellow band around its leg?

Hunter: I don=t know. It was on my property so I killed it.

Kent: WHAAAT! Don=t you watch the news? I just brought the flock here from Idaho. They're hand raised, not wild birds. They don=t know to stay on refuge land.

Hunter: He was on my property and it was a legal hunt.

Kent: Where is it?

Hunter: It=s still over there where I shot it. (He points)

Hunter: I=m really sorry. Is there any way I can make it up to you?

Kent: No. We all make mistakes. But you have to understand, I raised these from chicks.

Narrator: But there was even sadder news to come. Two of the young whoopers also strayed away from the flock and a bobcat and a coyote found them.

Whooper 3: It sure is crowded here, what with all those hundreds of sandhills and other birds. It=s fun having so many friends. But sometimes a bird just got to be alone, you know?

Bobcat: (Stalking on stage from the left) I can=t believe it -- a crane all by itself. And that s the biggest crane I=ve ever seen. It can=t be a sandhill. It=s a different color and it=s bigger.

Whooper 3: Boy are these plants tasty. (Bobcat stalks closer, then he pounces and feathers fly) Squawk. Squawk. Help. Help, Kent. Anybody where are you? Oh why did I ever leave the flock? OHHH. (Whooper 3 lies still and Bobcat starts to drag it off stage)

Bobcat: (To the audience) I can=t believe my luck. My family has been so hungry. This one will feed my kids for days.

Whooper 4: I wonder where my sister went. I told her she should stick with the flock. My this is a lovely place to feed. (He starts eating)

Coyote: (Coming on stage from the left, stalking the crane) I can=t believe my luck. One of those giant whoopers is by itself. Won=t my dad be proud of me!!!

Whooper 4: Squawk, squawk. I can=t believe I was so stupid!!! Help!! (Then he lies still and the coyote drags him off stage).

Whooper 1: It=s just you and me now. I=m gonna miss our two sisters.

Whooper 2: I=m scared. What if something happens to you? I=d be all-alone.

Mature Whooper 1: You have us. We=ve been flying with the sandhills for about eight years now and we=ve got the migration route down. And we know the habits of the coyotes and bobcats and eagles. I hear there may even be wolves out again soon.

Mature Whooper 2: Yeah, stick with us. We=ll help you.

Mature Whooper 1: But we need their help too -- the help of the humans. If only we can make them care about us. (To the audience in a loud voice) Do you care what happens to us? If you care, really care then we have a chance to survive. If you don=t, we=ll become extinct and disappear from the earth forever.

Mature Whooper 2: If you care about wildlife, clap your hands. (Whooper 2 starts clapping hands)

Mature Whooper 1: (In a louder voice) Show us that you care -- that you=ll do everything you can to help us survive. (Whooper 1 starts to clap)

Mature Whooper 1 and Whooper 2: (Both clapping and pleading with the audience) Please, we need your help!

Kent: (To the audience, yelling) That=s it. If all of us work together, we can save the whoopers. (The four whoopers and Kent are in a group with the rest of the cast in a semicircle around them, all clapping. The curtain closes.)

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