Join us for our webinar with Hillary Thompson, North America Program Crane Analyst, on Thursday, May 28, at 11 a.m. Central Time. Click here to register: bit.ly/3ggA9A8

Sponsored by lifelong crane protectors Gretchen and Bill Dresen.

Whooping Cranes are the rarest species of crane in the world. There are approximately 665 Whooping Cranes in North America, in one wild and two reintroduced populations. One of these reintroduced populations is known as the Eastern Migratory Population, which summers in Wisconsin, and winters in the southeastern United States. The first cohort of captive-reared cranes released into this population was raised in 2001 by costumed caretakers and taught to follow an ultralight aircraft from Wisconsin to their wintering home in Gulf Coastal Florida.

Since that inaugural flight south in 2001, we have released around 300 Whooping Cranes into the eastern U.S., have changed our rearing and release methods, and have had wild-hatched chicks fledge! The reintroduction effort is ongoing, and we are learning new things about Whooping Cranes and reintroduction techniques along the way. Please join us for stories about this reintroduced population of Endangered Whooping Cranes, an update on how the population is doing today and what we hope to see in the future.