Animal Crackers

ANIMAL CRACKERS

Whooping Cranes

Tall Dancing Birds

What's the tallest bird in North America? The whooping crane, AKA Grus Americana. Whooping cranes stand 4-5 feet tall. They are pure white, with black primary feathers on the wings and a bare red face and crown. Sometimes, Whoopers extend their huge wings and jump a few feet into the air.

The Long and Narrow Migration Path. Whooping cranes winter along the Gulf coast of Texas, at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. In the spring, migrating cranes head for nesting grounds in northern Canada, at Wood Buffalo National Park.

Rest Stops. The migration is roughly 1200 miles long, and Whoopers need to stop and rest along the way. No Motel 6 for these birds. They prefer freshwater marshes, wet prairies, shallow portions of rivers and reservoirs, grain and stubble fields, shallow lakes and lagoons for feeding and loafing during migration.

Dinner is Served. Whooping cranes have a varied diet; they'll eat snails, larval insects, leeches, frogs, minnows, small rodents, and berries. Sometimes they even scavenge dead ducks, marsh birds or muskrats. During migration, they stop to dine on aquatic animals, roots of plants and waste grain. In Texas, they eat shellfish, snakes, acorns, small fish and wild fruit.

Breeding Time. Whooping cranes, like most cranes, mate for life. In Japan, traditional wedding kimonos always have a crane embroidered on them, as a symbol of long life and harmony within a marriage.

May I Have This Dance? When choosing a mate, the adults do an elaborate courtship dance ~ one of the greatest shows in nature. They flap their wings, bow their heads, strut and leap into the air while making whooping, trumpeting sounds.

Two Eggs, No Waiting. The female lays two large eggs and both adults sit on the eggs to hatch them. The eggs hatch at different times and the second chick is often pushed out of the nest or starved.

A Cool Idea... Maybe. Because the species is so endangered, wildlife experts tried something that took advantage of the whooping cranes' two-egg, one-hatchling habit. They took the "extra" eggs from whoopers' nests and put them in the nests of sandhill cranes, who are closely related to whoopers. The program was a huge success. Sandhill cranes happily raised whooping crane chicks. But apparently they raised them too well. The whoopers thought they were sandhill cranes, and wouldn't mate with other whoopers.

Try, Try Again. Finally successful captive breeding programs were established in Maryland, Wisconsin, and Alberta, Canada.

Quick Chicks. Chicks can swim as soon as they hatch, and can fly within 80-90 days.

Give Me Land, Lots of Land... A single pair of whooping cranes needs 300-400 acres to find adequate food and nesting sites.

Photo Credit. UFSWS

Retirement Age for Cranes. The whooping crane has a lifespan of up to 24 years in the wild.

How Endangered Are They? Whooping cranes have never been numerous. Over the past two centuries, vast areas of wetlands in North America have been plowed up for farmland, paved into highways, or transformed by dams into water supplies. Whooping cranes were one of the first species to suffer the effects. It's estimated that no more than 1,400 whooping cranes lived in North America, even back in 1870. They have hovered near extinction for most of this century. Efforts to save the whooping crane began as early as 1918. By 1941, there were only 22 whooping cranes left: six non-migratory birds that had been bred in captivity and 16 in the flock that wintered each year in Aransas. This tiny population hung on, and in 1967 an aggressive intervention program was launched to save the species.

Link for More.

For the Migration Story, Check Out Fresh Greens.

Migrating with cranes.

Dances With Cranes. See the video.

ThinkQuest Checks out whoopers.

Crane legends.

All about whoopers.

Bring Back the Cranes.

A photo album.

Migration Central.

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What's the tallest bird in North America? The whooping crane, AKA Grus Americana. Whooping cranes stand 4-5 feet tall. They are pure white, with black primary feathers on the wings and a bare red face and crown. Sometimes, Whoopers extend their huge wings and jump a few feet into the air. The Long and Narrow Migration Path. Whooping cranes winter along the Gulf coast of Texas, at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. In the spring, migrating cranes head for nesting grounds in northern Canada, at Wood Buffalo National Park. Rest Stops. The migration is roughly 1200 miles long, and Whoopers need to stop and rest along the way. No Motel 6 for these birds. They prefer freshwater marshes, wet prairies, shallow portions of rivers and reservoirs, grain and stubble fields, shallow lakes and lagoons for feeding and loafing during migration. Dinner is Served. Whooping cranes have a varied diet; they'll eat snails, larval insects, leeches, frogs, minnows, small rodents, and berries. Sometimes they even scavenge dead ducks, marsh birds or muskrats. During migration, they stop to dine on aquatic animals, roots of plants and waste grain. In Texas, they eat shellfish, snakes, acorns, small fish and wild fruit.	Breeding Time. Whooping cranes, like most cranes, mate for life. In Japan, traditional wedding kimonos always have a crane embroidered on them, as a symbol of long life and harmony within a marriage. May I Have This Dance? When choosing a mate, the adults do an elaborate courtship dance ~ one of the greatest shows in nature. They flap their wings, bow their heads, strut and leap into the air while making whooping, trumpeting sounds. Two Eggs, No Waiting. The female lays two large eggs and both adults sit on the eggs to hatch them. The eggs hatch at different times and the second chick is often pushed out of the nest or starved. A Cool Idea... Maybe. Because the species is so endangered, wildlife experts tried something that took advantage of the whooping cranes' two-egg, one-hatchling habit. They took the "extra" eggs from whoopers' nests and put them in the nests of sandhill cranes, who are closely related to whoopers. The program was a huge success. Sandhill cranes happily raised whooping crane chicks. But apparently they raised them too well. The whoopers thought they were sandhill cranes, and wouldn't mate with other whoopers. Try, Try Again. Finally successful captive breeding programs were established in Maryland, Wisconsin, and Alberta, Canada. Quick Chicks. Chicks can swim as soon as they hatch, and can fly within 80-90 days. Give Me Land, Lots of Land... A single pair of whooping cranes needs 300-400 acres to find adequate food and nesting sites.	Photo Credit. UFSWS Retirement Age for Cranes. The whooping crane has a lifespan of up to 24 years in the wild. How Endangered Are They? Whooping cranes have never been numerous. Over the past two centuries, vast areas of wetlands in North America have been plowed up for farmland, paved into highways, or transformed by dams into water supplies. Whooping cranes were one of the first species to suffer the effects. It's estimated that no more than 1,400 whooping cranes lived in North America, even back in 1870. They have hovered near extinction for most of this century. Efforts to save the whooping crane began as early as 1918. By 1941, there were only 22 whooping cranes left: six non-migratory birds that had been bred in captivity and 16 in the flock that wintered each year in Aransas. This tiny population hung on, and in 1967 an aggressive intervention program was launched to save the species. Link for More. For the Migration Story, Check Out Fresh Greens. Migrating with cranes. Dances With Cranes. See the video. ThinkQuest Checks out whoopers. Crane legends. All about whoopers. Bring Back the Cranes. A photo album. Migration Central.
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