Members of the Whooping Crane class of 2015 are getting ready for their next big adventure. For the first time in their young lives they’ll learn to fly to their wintering grounds in the central and southeastern United States, another crucial step in efforts to re-establish a migratory population in the eastern half of North America.
Category: North America
What it Takes to Raise a Whooping Crane Chick
A lot goes into preparing a chick for release into the wild and (spoiler alert) the key is you! With just over 400 in the wild, our painstaking work to raise and reintroduce Whooping Cranes to their natural environment is critical and urgent. But we’ll be the first to tell you that it isn’t easy.
Heading into the Remote Nesting Grounds of the Whooping Crane
It was a photo expedition ten years in the making. Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada. One of the largest parks in the world, spanning over 11 million acres, it is a vast and wild land of northern boreal plains, karstland riddled with sinkholes, and even a salt desert.
Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership Captures Hybrid Whooping Crane
The Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP) and staff with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have captured a hybrid crane chick, referred to as a ‘Whoophill,’ in eastern Wisconsin and will place the chick in captivity.
International Crane Foundation Receives Prestigious Plume Award for Whooping Crane Captive Management
It’s a feather in our cap! We are honored to receive the Plume Award for our Whooping Crane captive breeding program. The annual Long-term Propagation Program Award from the Avian Scientific Advisory Group of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums recognizes excellence in husbandry and management of avian species.
Global Staff Flock to International Crane Foundation Headquarters
In late June, the “International” in our title takes on even more meaning as over a dozen of our global staff members converge on our headquarters in Baraboo, Wisconsin for our inaugural Global Staff Retreat.
Our Commitment Remains after Supreme Court Denies Whooping Crane Case
Whooping Cranes may not go to the highest Court in the land, but the International Crane Foundation is resolved to continue to champion for the future of this endangered species.
Egg Score Card 2015
Our captive Whooping Cranes are laying eggs – breeding season is here! A tradition at the International Crane Foundation is to follow our “Egg Score Card,” which tracks the Whooping Crane eggs from our captive flock, as well as wild Whooping Crane nests in Wisconsin.
Whoopsie, the Whooping-Sandhill Crane Chick
Crane chicks always cause a bit of a stir, but one in particular is making waves among Wisconsinites near its home in the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge and with craniacs everywhere. Affectionately named “Whoopsie,” the chick is a hybrid of a male Whooping Crane and a female Sandhill Crane. With all the excitement around this unusual mix comes much curiosity. Read on for answers to your most pressing “Whoophill” questions!
Endangered Whooping Crane Hatches!
The International Crane Foundation has announced this spring’s first hatch of a Whooping Crane chick at its headquarters in Baraboo, Wisconsin. As a federally designated endangered species, the hatch of a Whooping Crane is always a significant event. The fact that it was hatched through a captive breeding program for release into the wild is further evidence of how critical such programs are to the species’ survival.