Whooping Crane

Whooping cranes are the tallest American bird, nearly five feet tall with bright white features and accents of red on their head. The whooping part of the cranes name comes from the creature's "whooping" call to it makes to its mates. The whooping bird duet coordinate their special calls and even create dances consisting of bowing, jumping, running, and flapping their wings. These extraordinary birds are unfortunately endangered species.

With recent efforts from the Endangered Species Act protection, the whooping cranes have been able to commence an amazing comeback from the brink of extinction when there were only 15 whooping cranes in 1940. The numbers have slowly risen to about 600 whooping cranes today.

Several organizations have taken the mission of protecting endangered whooping cranes to their own hands. These organizations include:

- Whooping Crane Conservation Association(WCCA): This organization became the first private group with the its goal to restore Whooping Cranes and their habitats. They have provided financial, medical, and even political assistance to help recover the whooping crane population.

- International Crane Foundation: This organization has helped recover several whooping cranes and use captive breeding and reintroduction programs to help increase their population. The foundation also raises awareness and has several conservation programs to help better understand the cranes and support the full recovery of their population.

General Information About Whooping Birds:

The whooping crane weighs about 15 pounds and has a wingspan of more than 5 feet. These cranes move at a steady pace and frequently search for food and group in small flocks or larger numbers. Whooping Cranes eat small insects, plant material, berried, and seeds. These cranes breed in grassy wetlands and during their migration, stop in locations with shallow, but wide rivers. The best place to find these birds during winter is at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. In the summer thee birds are in remote areas in Canada such as Wood Buffalo National Park.