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.”

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!

In a landmark conservation achievement for the Texas coast, a coalition of partners at the International Crane Foundation, The Conservation Fund, and the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program has secured permanent protection for more than 3,300 acres of high-priority wintering habitat for the federally endangered Whooping Crane, one of North America’s rarest and most endangered birds.

Stand up for endangered species, like the Whooping Crane, and submit your comment(s) on the proposed rule changes to the Endangered Species Act by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on December 22, 2025.

In November, most of the Whooping Cranes left Wisconsin on their southward migration!

For over 70 years, scientists and conservationists have come to understand the habitat needs of the Aransas-Wood Buffalo Population of Whooping Cranes. However, Whooping Cranes continue to surprise us, and they are increasingly using habitat away from the coast.