Manthey said the two police officers used a 28-gauge shotgun to dispatch the bird Sunday. They chose that weapon because it has less stopping power than other shotguns and would be safer to use in a public area. The officers fired two shots in total.

Police “did their due diligence” and ensured no people were in the background, he added.

Anne Lacy, Crane Research Coordinator at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, said cranes cannot be easily moved or captured because they are territorial animals.

In her past experiences, she’s seen many cranes dispatched by wildlife agents if the birds were struck by power lines or hit by cars.

“It is very difficult to watch,” Lacy said.

While a gunshot can be a quick and humane death, Lacy said the foundation would have recommended authorities to instead ask citizens to use car covers.

Cranes can get aggressive if they see their own reflection, Lacy said, and this likely caused the crane to peck at vehicles. Covering the cars would have removed that stimulus altogether, she said.