Initiative: Threat Assessment
Captive-rearing programs have successfully bolstered the number of Whooping Cranes in the Eastern Migratory Population (EMP) from the initial releases of captive-reared juveniles in 2001 to the present.
Captive-rearing programs have successfully bolstered the number of Whooping Cranes in the Eastern Migratory Population (EMP) from the initial releases of captive-reared juveniles in 2001 to the present.
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.
Aug. 29, 2024 (Kenya, Africa) – The International Crane Foundation installed six freshwater springs in Nandi County, Kenya, this year, providing more than 5,000 families with fresh water, thanks in part to a one-million-dollar commitment from the Leiden Conservation Foundation and the support from the local communities and governments. Families throughout Nandi County rely on water for domestic use and to care for their livestock, yet 54 percent of people in this county do not have access to safe water.
Illegal shootings are a significant threat to the survival of Endangered Whooping Cranes.
A dead Grey Crowned Crane lies below a transmission line in southwest Uganda.
A sudden movement causes a Grey Crowned Crane pair to flush, leaping upwards until one of the cranes unknowingly collides with a powerline near their roost site. The bird later is found below the line with a wing injury or is killed immediately from the impact or electrocution.
I was working in Zambia when word came that the United States would pull out of the international Paris Agreement on climate change. Listening to this news with a group of Zambian colleagues, I was saddened. In Zambia, and nearly everywhere we work around the world, climate change is treated as a life or death matter. The prospect of intensely prolonged droughts and water shortages, chronic food insecurity, power outages, coastal land loss under rising seas, and extremely violent storms doesn’t bode well for poor countries like Zambia that lack the resources to adapt to these daunting challenges. These countries have contributed little to global warming but face the brunt of its impacts.
ICF President Dr. Rich Beilfuss recently returned from a three-week field visit to advance ICF’s Africa Program in three important “crane countries” — Uganda, Rwanda, and Zambia. Following is part two of Rich’s field notes, highlighting wetland restoration and conservation activities in Rwanda. Read Rich’s field notes from Uganda and Zambia.