The International Crane Foundation today officially opened its Nairobi office, marking an important milestone in strengthening science-driven conservation, wetlands protection, and community-led environmental initiatives across East Africa.

Agencies say the annual cost to operate the proposed hunt far outweighs revenues by $1.6 million and would completely overwhelm current farmer assistance programs.

The two populations of North America’s migrating Whooping Cranes exhibit vastly different behaviors on their journey south. The remnant Aransas-Wood Buffalo Population (AWBP) migrates about 2,500 miles along the Central Flyway to reach their historic wintering grounds in coastal Texas. The Eastern Migratory Population (EMP), a reintroduced population established in 2001, was originally taught to fly to coastal Florida to salt marshes that mimic the conditions of the wintering habitat in Texas.

During January, most of the Whooping Cranes in the Eastern Migratory Population were still on their wintering grounds and doing well.

If you ask the Crane Conservation Department—our aviculture team responsible for the daily care of our flock—what’s going on with our cranes during the winter months, you will likely hear us talk about “socialization.”

The International Crane Foundation in Africa calls for governments, organisations, and individuals to work alongside traditional custodians to restore wetlands for a secure future of cranes and people ahead of World Wetlands Day to be celebrated on 2nd February under the theme “Wetlands and Traditional Knowledge: Celebrating Cultural Heritage.”

More than 90,000 hectares (222,600 acres) of irreplaceable Drakensberg Grasslands will now be conserved as part of South Africa’s first large-scale, verified soil carbon project.

For decades, conservationists have worked to combat threats that nearly drove the Whooping Crane to extinction. Their population hit a historic low of only 21 individuals in the wild in the 1940s. As part of the effort to save the species, a population of migratory Whooping Cranes was reintroduced to Wisconsin in 2001, known as the Eastern Migratory Population, or EMP. Today, the EMP consists of around 70 individuals who spend their summers in Wisconsin before migrating further south for the winter, mostly in Alabama and Indiana. Through this reintroduction and countless other conservation measures, there are now about 700 Whooping Cranes in the wild in three populations. Despite this impressive growth, threats continue to emerge that threaten the species’ survival, and these must be met with creative research, dedicated partnerships, and decisive action to safeguard the future of Whooping Cranes.

During December, the 2025 Whooping Crane cohort in the Eastern Migratory Population appears to be doing well, and cranes migrated south to their wintering grounds!