As the human population grows, the demand for energy, especially from renewable resources such as wind and solar, has drastically increased. This has accelerated the construction of wind turbines, solar farms, and power lines in the United States. When new energy infrastructure is placed in or near crane habitats, it can disrupt their movement patterns and reduce available resources.
Whooping Cranes are one of the rarest birds in the world. They are particularly susceptible to collisions with powerlines, many of which are fatal, and this impedes the recovery of the species.
During November, most of the Whooping Crane Eastern Migratory Population left Wisconsin on their migration south! A huge thank you to the staff of the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Departments of Natural Resources of flyway states, the International Crane Foundation, and all the volunteers who help us keep track of the cranes throughout the year.
Do you remember Whooping Crane 16-23’s (a.k.a. Animal’s) big adventure earlier this spring? This young crane was reported by local birders in a residential neighborhood of Wilmette, a suburb of Chicago, in late April. She had gotten off course during her first northern migration, and we were concerned about her safety in this busy area.
This spring, our Curator of Birds, Kim Boardman, and Director of Conservation Medicine, Dr. Diana Boon, traveled to Vietnam and Thailand to join Dr. Tran Triet, our Southeast Asia Program Director.
April 24, 2024 (Wilmette, Illinois) – A young Whooping Crane, 16-23 a.k.a. Animal, was reported by local birders in a residential neighborhood of Wilmette, a suburb of Chicago, Tuesday morning.
In May 2019, researchers at the International Crane Foundation documented a pair of female Whooping Cranes nesting and incubating eggs at McMillan Marsh Wildlife Area in Marathon County, Wisconsin. This observation, while exciting, was not necessarily unique as many birds, including chinstrap penguins, greater flamingoes, zebra finches, bearded vultures, and even Black-necked Cranes, have been known to exhibit same-sex pairing behaviors.
Illegal shootings are a significant threat to the survival of Endangered Whooping Cranes.
“This is the story of the last of the western population of Siberian Cranes, a group discovered by Dr. Ali Ashtiani in 1978. They numbered 12-14 cranes and inhabited a wetland complex where local people trapped wild ducks and geese.
Since 2014, European zoos, particularly Brno Zoo and the Environmental Educational Centre of the Czech Republic, have cooperated with the Station for the Reintroduction of Rare Bird Species at the Khingansky State Nature Reserve in Far East Russia to return Red-crowned and White-naped Cranes to the wild.
The combined wild populations of two iconic Asian crane species – the Endangered Red-crowned Crane and Vulnerable White-naped Crane – are less than 10,000 birds. Because of the precarious situation of these wild populations, the world’s zoos have established conservation populations for both species. Within the European Association of Zoological Gardens and Aquaria (EAZA), both species fall into the Ex-situ Programme (EEP), formerly known as the European Endangered Species Programme, which establishes population management programs for selected species. One of the Program’s goals is to have a large enough captive population, if necessary, to return birds to the wild.
