Extinct Animals : Whooping Crane

Never very abundant, the whooping crane suffered in the late 1800s from indiscriminate shooting, habitat disturbance, and the draining of the large, isolated marshes that it frequented. In 1941 there were only 21 wild birds and two captives remaining. Today there are 300 whooping cranes in the world. The species is still on the endangered list and is carefully monitored.

Total legal protection, public interest, protected breeding grounds in Canada and wintering grounds in the United States, along with artificial incubation, foster parenting by sandhill cranes and the establishment of an additional breeding flock in Idaho, have all helped in rescuing the whooping crane from extinction.