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Lessons from the Passenger Pigeon’s Extinction

On September 1st we will observe the 100 year anniversary of the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon. Just a few decades after the Passenger Pigeon’s demise, another North American bird species, the Whooping Crane, declined to just 21 birds in the wild. Loss of habitat and hunting pressures nearly caused the same fate as the Passenger Pigeon’s.

ICF Receives Disney Conservation Grants


ICF has been awarded two $25,000 grants from the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund. These conservation grants will support ICF’s work in China to protect the Siberian Crane, a critically endangered species dependent on rapidly disappearing wetlands along its flyway; and its activities in East Africa, to protect the Grey Crowned Crane whose population has declined by 75% over the last 20 years.

ICF's Whooping Crane Chicks Cast for Critical Role in the Wild

The International Crane Foundation (ICF) has nine Whooping Crane chicks for this year’s Direct Autumn Release (DAR) Program, a release method that relies on older Whooping Cranes to lead the chicks south in the fall. ICF is one of only five captive breeding centers in the world focused on raising endangered Whooping Cranes for release into the wild.

An Insider’s View into the World of Raising Endangered Whooping Crane Chicks

With a population of less than 600 Whooping Cranes in the world, the International Crane Foundation (ICF) is one of four captive breeding centers raising Whooping Cranes for release into the wild. Captive breeding has become an essential part of saving this endangered species, and through a web camera ICF is inviting you to see a day in the life of a Whooping Crane chick and the dedicated people that care for them.

ICF Launches National Whooping Crane Environmental Ed Program

ICF recently launched an initiative to develop a National Whooping Crane Environmental Education program. This program, aimed at 4th – 8th grade students, teachers, families, and the general public, will involve interactive multi-media tools to engage people in Whooping Crane conservation. We started this work in Texas through a partnership with Hamline University’s Center for Global Environmental Education and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi’s Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies.

Students Migrate to the International Crane Foundation

The International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, WI and its unique collection of the world’s cranes has been a favorite Wisconsin school field trip destination since 1978. Over 6,000 students per year visit ICF and take home the important lesson that each of us plays a role in the relationship between cranes, humans, and the natural systems on which all forms of life depend.