How big are Whooping Cranes?
Whooping Cranes, the tallest of the North American birds, stand nearly 5 feet tall. Their wingspan measures between 7 and 8 feet. Males weigh 16 pounds, and females weigh 14 pounds.

How much nesting territory do Whooping Cranes need?
The average nesting territory for a pair of whooping cranes in Wood Buffalo National Park is 1,013 acres.

Where do Whooping Cranes live?
The only remaining natural population nests in Wood Buffalo National Park, in Canada’s Northwest Territory, and winters at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) on the Texas gulf coast. Whooping Cranes were once found over most of North America—from the arctic to central Mexico and from the mid-Atlantic coast and New England to Utah, Wyoming, and New Mexico. A flock of non-migratory (resident) birds persisted in southwestern Louisiana until the late 1940s. The last documented nest in the United States was found 26 May 1894, south of Crystal Lake, in Hancock County, Iowa. The FWC has helped establish a non-migratory flock of whooping cranes that inhabits central Florida year-round. A migratory flock of whooping cranes, which winters in central Florida, is also being re-introduced.

What habitats are important to Whooping Cranes?
Whooping Cranes feed, nest, and roost in marshes (coastal marshes in Texas), lakeshores, and open grasslands—where there is minimal disturbance by humans.

What do Whooping Cranes eat?
Whooping Cranes eat aquatic invertebrates (insects, crustaceans, and mollusks), small vertebrates (fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals), roots, acorns, and berries.

When do Whooping Cranes lay eggs?
The nesting season in Wood Buffalo National Park begins in late April or early May. In central Florida it begins in January and extends through May.

How many eggs do Whooping Cranes lay each season?
Mean clutch size is 1.94 eggs. Most nests contain two eggs; occasionally, nests contain only one egg, and rarely three.

How long does it take for Whooping Crane eggs to hatch?
It takes between 29 and 31 days for the eggs to hatch. Both sexes incubate. A Whooping Crane pair will renest if the first clutch of eggs is destroyed before mid-incubation.

How many chicks hatch from each Whooping Crane nest?
One chick is most common; whooping cranes rarely succeed in raising two chicks.

How old are Whooping Cranes when they learn to fly?
Young Whooping Cranes are capable of flight when they are between 80 and 90 days old. Initially, chicks are cinnamon brown; by four months of age emerging white, adult-like feathers produce a mottled appearance. Young Whooping Cranes achieve adult-looking plumage as they approach 1 year of age.

When do Whooping Cranes become independent from their parents?
Young migratory Whooping Cranes become independent from their parents during northward migration or shortly after arrival on the breeding grounds. For non-migratory whooping cranes in Florida, young become independent just before the parents begin their next nesting season.

At what age do Whooping Cranes reach sexual maturity?
Whooping Cranes produce their first fertile eggs between age 4 and age 7 (mean = 5.4 years).

Do Whooping Cranes mate for life or select a new mate every year?
Whooping Cranes mate for life, but they will take a new mate after loss of the original. The pair will return to use and defend the same nesting and wintering territory year after year.

How long do wild Whooping Cranes live?
They are known to live at least 22 years in the wild and perhaps as long as 40 years.

How large is the Whooping Crane population?
The world’s Whooping Crane population has gradually increased from a low of 22 birds in 1941 to 450 birds in spring 2004. Always rare, the Whooping Crane population may never have exceeded 10,000 at most.

Why did the Whooping Crane population decline?
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Whooping Crane habitat was lost to agriculture and drainage, and humans hunted the birds and collected their eggs—all of which contributed to the population decline. While Wood Buffalo National Park was established in 1922, it wasn't until 1955 that it was discovered that whooping cranes nested there. The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge (their principle wintering site) was established in 1937. Captive propagation, initiated at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in 1967, produced the first captive-produced eggs in 1975.

What are researchers’ recovery goals for the Whooping Crane?
For Whooping Cranes to be "down-listed" from endangered to threatened status, there must be 40 nesting pairs in the Aransas/Wood Buffalo Park population and 25 nesting pairs in 2 additional, distinct locations, all reproducing at a self-sustaining rate for 10 years. The non-migratory and migratory flocks of whooping cranes in Florida are being introduced to achieve that goal.

Where can I find more information about Whooping Cranes?
Visit the Whooping Crane Section for more information.