Five facts you may not have known about whooping cranes
Published 11:03 am Thursday, September 8, 2022
- The whooping crane is one of North America's most majestic birds, but lives under constant threat of extinction due to low birth numbers and challenges to the crane's habitats.
1. The whooping crane is the tallest bird in North America and the rarest crane species.
2. Low population numbers, coupled with the loss of habitat and hunting pressures, nearly caused the whooping crane’s extinction in the early 1900s.
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3. When the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973, less than 50 whooping cranes existed in the wild. Today, nearly 600 whooping cranes live in the wild.
4. Whooping cranes typically lay only two eggs per clutch.
5. On their wintering grounds along the Gulf Coast, whooping cranes nearly exclusively feed on blue crabs and wolfberries.
Source: International Crane Foundation
