Whooping Crane

Описание: There's a lot to whoop about when it comes to whooping crane conservation! The recovery of the whooping crane is a success story in the making, and a testament to the good things human ingenuity and dedication can accomplish.

As a result of habitat losses and unregulated hunting practices, the whooping crane's populations crashed in the mid-20th century, with just 21 birds left living in the wild by 1941. As a migratory species that travels from the Gulf coast of Texas to the remote taiga in the most northern part of Alberta, the surviving whooping cranes faced enormous threats from habitat losses all along their long travel route. To help, conservation groups established a second population of whooping cranes to the east—these birds would winter along the Gulf coast of Florida, and migrate to suitable summer habitat in a wildlife refuge in Wisconsin. To ensure the captive bred cranes did not become accustomed to humans, the people raising them always appeared in crane costumes during feeding and training. The birds were taught their new migration route by being encouraged to follow an ultralight aircraft that lead them on their first journey from Wisconsin to Florida. After being taught the way, the whooping cranes are able to complete the migrations on their own, and a few have begun breeding and raising chicks of their own. Because of the hard work of everyone involved, the whooping crane's wild population is now estimated to be 437!