BirdNote Daily Whooping Cranes: A Song That Was Nearly Silenced
Nov 25, 2025
Discover the fascinating story of the Whooping Crane, North America's tallest flying bird, which teetered on the brink of extinction with only 15 individuals left in the wild by the 1940s. Explore the quirky conservation tactics, including the use of puppets and disguises to raise young cranes without them imprinting on humans. Learn about innovative ultralight-led migrations and ongoing protection efforts that have helped the population swell to nearly 800. Now, a self-sustaining flock thrives, migrating between Canada and Texas.
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Recovery Through Diverse Conservation
- Whooping cranes nearly went extinct but recovered through varied conservation efforts over decades.
- The mix of creative and conventional actions produced a population near 800 birds today.
Crisis Spurred Unusual Efforts
- Illegal hunting and egg collecting decimated the population to just 15 birds by the 1940s.
- That brink-of-extinction moment galvanized the unusual and sustained conservation response.
Costumes And Ultralights Saved Migration Skills
- Caretakers disguised themselves with white smocks and crane-shaped hand puppets to prevent imprinting on humans.
- Pilots guided chicks along a 1,200-mile route with ultralight aircraft until 2016 to teach migration.