The annual winter sandhill crane hunter harvest recently ended across the state of New Mexico.

According to KOB 4 News, the sandhill crane hunter harvest is held every winter to control the population of the birds and to help researchers better understand them. The most recent hunter harvest ended Jan. 15. 

"Having a hunter harvest is an important tool for managing that population," New Mexico Department of Game and Fish spokesman Darren Vaughan told KOB 4. "Overpopulation is just as unhealthy as is under-population."

Vaughan said that for population control purposes, the annual lottery hunt is invaluable. New Mexico is among 17 states that allows hunting of the sandhill crane.

Researchers meet with hunters at Game and Fish check stations to review bird samples. The researchers are studying crane diseases and behavior.

“It very much resembles the fighting claw of a velociraptor, and because birds are descended from dinosaurs, they’re not too distantly related from velociraptors,” research team leader Chris Witt told KOB 4. “There’s a lot of discovery there.”

“As long as we’re maintain enough healthy habitat, and you know on the wintering grounds here in New Mexico, but also in their migration and staging areas and in their breeding locations," Vaughan added. "That will ensure these birds are healthy for years to come and generations to come.”