Ancient. Elegant. Endangered. Cranes inspire us to work for a better world. Reflecting on our golden anniversary, I am drawn to the amazing places where cranes have led us, and how decades of commitment and partnership inspire innovative new ways to safeguard cranes and the lands and waters we share.
The unprecedented loss of up to 8,000 Eurasian Cranes to an H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in Israel’s Hula Valley in December 2021 was a tragic example of the potential for this virus to sicken wild birds and now cranes in particular.
Now residing in the Monona, Wisconsin area, Mary Dykstra grew up on a dairy farm in Sheboygan County. She has a degree in Elementary Education and began her career teaching in a six-grade classroom. Growing up on a farm and being introduced to birding when she was younger, Mary always had an interest in environmental education. Her interests led her to many different roles throughout her career, including outreach programming for the Wisconsin Humane Society, writing and editing for Birders World Magazine and volunteer administration for the Wisconsin Historical Museum.
Slidell’s going away party, crane style! She enjoyed a farewell enrichment cake loaded with her favorite treats hidden in paper towel tubes.
In December 2020, our aviculture staff completed their first animal transfer since the beginning of Covid-19. Discussions began at the beginning of the year to identify a new home for Slidell, a 19-year-old Grey Crowned Crane that many visitors to our headquarters have come to love over the years.
As I reflect on our accomplishments during this challenging year, I have never been prouder of our team and how together we have become stronger, never wavering in our mission in a time of crisis. Long before the pandemic began spreading across the globe, we were combatting global crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. And as our latest Annual Report 2020 reflects, we are making a difference together while keeping our teams safe and strong.
Welcome to the latest edition of Cranetivities! Join us this week as we learn more about fall migration. You can find our most recent edition of Cranetivities here.
