State wildlife agents say a visit from a Chicago man to rural Evangeline Parish ended with an endangered whooping crane shot dead on a crawfish farm and the suspect in handcuffs. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologists tracked the signal from the bird’s collar to the farm in mid-March and found the crane dead with shotgun wounds. According to the agency, the suspect admitted to firing the shot on March 17, and the killing is the second whooping crane death reported in the parish this year.
According to WBRZ, LDWF agents served a search warrant at the crawfish operation and located a spent shotgun shell casing at the scene. Investigators identified the suspect as 49-year-old Michael Alaniz of Chicago. WBRZ reports that Alaniz contacted LDWF and acknowledged shooting the bird on March 17. Agents recovered the crane with shotgun wounds at a farm along Highway 106 between Bayou Chicot and Pine Prairie, and the outlet notes that LDWF plans to seek civil restitution for the replacement value of the endangered bird.
This case surfaced just weeks after a separate whooping crane was killed in nearly the same area. On February 28, LDWF agents responded after a tracking collar stopped transmitting and later found a dead crane in a pond off Millers Lake Road. KATC reports that agents cited 36-year-old Logan Q. Thrasher of St. Landry Parish and 33-year-old Manuel Luis of Zacapu, Michoacán. Investigators say the two men fired three shots at a flock using a .17-caliber rifle. According to KATC, the pair were cited under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and were told to expect roughly $15,000 in civil restitution.
State and federal penalties
State wildlife citations for killing protected birds can come with fines, potential jail time, or both, and LDWF has made clear it intends to pursue civil restitution in the recent cases. KPLC reports that violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act can bring fines of several hundred dollars and up to 120 days in jail. On top of that, federal prosecutors have stepped in before. In a 2019 Evangeline Parish case, the U.S. Department of Justice brought charges over a whooping crane killing that resulted in probation and other penalties, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release, a reminder that federal involvement remains very much on the table.
Why this matters for recovery efforts
For Louisiana’s tiny, non-migratory whooping crane flock, every loss hits hard. A national report outlined the reward offered in a separate 2024 killing and the steep costs tied to the species’ reintroduction and monitoring work. AP noted that reward in connection with that other case, underscoring how much time and money are invested in each bird. Local reporting puts the current Louisiana population at roughly 80 cranes, so two recent killings in one parish represent a noticeable dent in a flock that is still trying to claw its way back from the brink…