Experts believe an endangered whooping crane found dead this year near a South Texas refuge was likely killed by a predator.
The Corpus Christi Caller-Times on Thursday received necropsy results through a Freedom of Information request.
A hunting guide on Jan. 4 discovered the dead adult bird on San Jose Island, near a duck blind. The site is near the Aransas (uh-RAN'-zuhs) National Wildlife Refuge.
State and federal wildlife officers found little evidence at the scene. The crane was sent to a forensic laboratory in Oregon.
The necropsy listed "trauma-predation suspect" as cause of death. The bird's neck had damage blamed on teeth from an unspecified carnivore.
The report says an accompanying cause such as a gunshot could not be ruled out. No traces of metal were in the remains.