Whooping Crane —Ross Feldner

Before humans began altering their habitat, it is estimated there were 15,000 to 20,000 Whooping Cranes. By the 1800’s and early 1900s, hunting and habitat loss began to reduce their numbers drastically. By 1860 there were only about 1,400 and in 1941 their population had fallen to the shockingly low number of 15! It seemed they were on the verge of extinction.

These last few survivors were all part of a single flock that migrated between Canada and Texas. Working with local, federal, and international governments to encourage breeding and protect the small flock, conservationists were able to increase their numbers to 57 by 1970 and 214 by 2005. Scientists quickly realized the danger of depending on one group of birds as a single disaster or sickness among them would be devastating.

Biologists attempted to start a flock in Idaho, but it disappeared after only a few years. A non-migratory flock was introduced in Florida and was somewhat successful. However, the Florida cranes never learned to migrate until the International Whooping Crane Recovery Team hit upon the novel idea of using an ultra-light aircraft to teach the young whoopers how to fly from Florida to Wisconsin without the help of adult birds.