In observance of the tenth anniversary of Endangered Species Day, Whooping Cranes will “vanish” from their exhibits at the International Crane Foundation. Their implied disappearance is meant to highlight the growing need to save endangered species from extinction.
Category: Newsroom
Vietnam Celebrates Sarus Cranes
Symbols of long life, fidelity, and the link between earth and heaven, cranes are sacred throughout the world. Can this special connection help protect cranes and the wild places where they live, while benefiting us too? We have reason to believe so.
Saving Whooping Cranes One Egg at a Time
We stole 15 Whooping Crane eggs. But don’t worry! It’s all part of a science-based strategy to increase the number of Whooping Cranes above their current world population of just 600 birds. And, so far, the results are looking good.
Whooping Cranes V
In 2009, 23 Whooping Cranes (nearly 10% of the world’s population) died when their fresh water source was diverted along the coast of Texas. Today, Jim Blackburn, the attorney fighting on behalf of the Whooping Cranes, shared this touching original poem with our team. Now we share it with you and wish you a very happy Earth Day!
Crane Count Classic – Capturing the History of the Early Years
I encountered my first Sandhill Crane in the spring of 1973. As a first-year graduate student and an ornithology teaching assistant, I was weak at the knees with my inexperience, yet loving every minute. George Archibald and Ron Sauey, recently of Cornell University, were just establishing the International Crane Foundation on the northern outskirts of Baraboo, WI.
An Evening with the Cranes 2015
Enjoy a magical summer evening at the headquarters of the International Crane Foundation. Explore the exhibits and cranes while strolling our trails and sampling local gourmet food, craft beer, and wines. Live music mixed with crane calls make it a truly unique evening. We hope you will join us!
In Search of Crane Counters!
As cranes flock back to the Midwest from their wintering grounds in the south, the International Crane Foundation is seeking volunteers to participate in the 40th Annual Midwest Crane Count. Over 2,000 volunteers participate in the annual spring crane survey, which gathers information on the abundance and distribution of cranes in the upper Midwest.
Notes from the President
Can you imagine seeing seven of the world’s 15 species of cranes in one morning? There is only one place on earth where this has ever happened, a most remarkable, and most threatened, place – the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that divides the hostile Korean peninsula.
Travels with George: Ethiopia 2015
While vociferousness is typically associated with cranes – “the trumpet in the orchestra of evolution” to quote Aldo Leopold – one of the largest of the 15 species, the Wattled Crane of Africa, is usually silent. Occasionally one might hear a piercing high-pitched Guard Call or Flight Call and on extremely rare occasions a short duet or Unison Call by a mated pair that lasts but a few seconds. If you are close to a pair or family of Wattled Cranes, one can frequently hear the low burr-like Contact Call, perhaps an expression of proximity and assurance.
The Journey of Hope
In August 2014, a team of scientists from the International Crane Foundation, Mongolian Wildlife Science and Conservation Center, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, and U.S. Forest Service traveled to the Khurkh and Khuiten River Valleys of northern Mongolia to study this important breeding area for White-naped Cranes.