In May, chicks have started hatching in the Whooping Crane Eastern Migratory Population!

The Government of the Republic of Zambia through the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment, in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism, the International Crane Foundation and WWF Zambia, has launched a five-year US$9 million Global Environment Facility (GEF) Kafue Flats Project aimed at restoring the Kafue Flats ecosystem, and securing wildlife habitat and species, while improving livelihoods, strengthening climate resilience, and supporting sustainable development for communities across the wetland landscape.

In April, the Whooping Cranes in the Eastern Migratory Population began nesting in Wisconsin!

The International Crane Foundation is deeply concerned following the recent illegal shooting of a Whooping Crane in Evangeline Parish, Louisiana — the second such incident in the parish in less than two months. It is the third time in just over two years that a Whooping Crane has been poached in the parish.

During March, most Whooping Cranes in the Eastern Migratory Population arrived on their typical breeding/summering grounds in Wisconsin!

The International Crane Foundation is proud to announce the 50th anniversary of its annual Midwest Crane Count, a landmark milestone for one of the longest-running community science wildlife surveys in North America.

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.

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.