How do you protect the bird that wears a golden crown—the living emblem of Uganda herself—when the very wetlands she calls home are disappearing, farmers are poisoning birds out of desperation, new power lines are cutting through crane flyways, and communities cannot choose conservation over survival?

On 5th June 2026, the International Crane Foundation partnered with the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment and other stakeholders to commemorate World Environment Day at Lusaka National Park in Lusaka under the national theme, “Accelerating Zambia’s Climate Action for Green Growth and Sustainability.”

Zambia has taken a major step toward securing the future of the Kafue Flats, one of the country’s most important ecosystems, with the launch of seven General Management Plans for protected areas by the former Minister of Tourism, Mr. Rodney Sikumba.

This rule change directly threatens the continued recovery of the Endangered Whooping Crane, one of the first species protected by the Endangered Species Act

Today’s actions directly threaten recovery of the Endangered Whooping Crane, one of the first species protected by the Endangered Species Act

This year’s chicks are getting bigger in the Eastern Migratory Whooping Crane population!

Annual USFWS aerial surveys estimate 540 Whooping Cranes near Aransas NWR in 2025–2026 — roughly flat with last year’s estimate of 557 — as the species enters its tenth year above 500 individuals.

For the last few years, we have been receiving reports of a lone Wattled Crane among Blue Cranes in Mpumalanga province, eastern South Africa. Never in our wildest dreams did we think a Wattled crane would pair up with a Blue Crane, but the inevitable happened.

From 2019-2024, our team monitored 81 Whooping Crane nests across Wisconsin to determine the main predators of the population’s eggs.