USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
The Courtship of a Whooping Crane………in Captivity

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For those of us blessed to work with the whooping cranes at Patuxent there are a number of ways, on any given day or in any given year, we are rewarded for our dedication to their recovery. 

During a recent morning walk through of the Blue Series pens, where many whooping crane pairs reside, I could hear the birds begin their familiar symphony of unison calls.  When I listened to the cranes, I could hear one new, still unfamiliar unison call.  The sound of this call has given the crane crew much reason to smile, because it is that from a newly formed pair.

In the late fall and winter of each year, long before eggs are laid and chicks start hatching, we focus on future generations of whooping cranes.  It is during this time that we begin the process of forming new whooping crane pairs.  This is a carefully planned process, sometimes lasting months or even years.  MORE

Endangered Whooping Cranes Arrive in Florida

January 23, 2009, fourteen endangered whooping cranes arrived safety at their wintering ground in Florida after a trek of more than 1,200 miles through seven states.  The cranes which make up the Class of 2008 were led by four ultra-light aircraft as part of a US  Geological Survey's partnership with the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP).  USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center scientists and technicians play the important role researching the propagation and rearing of this endangered species for reintroduction into the wild. 

After last year's devastating loss of the Class of 2007, WCEP decided to split the Class of 2008 into two different wintering sites.  Seven of the cranes will winter in St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge and seven at the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge.  Amazingly, these cranes will migrate back to Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in the Spring all on their own.

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See our Whooper Sitemap with links to our early crane and chick reports

Online Publications:

Proceedings of the Eighth North American Crane Workshop
Cranes: Their Biology, Husbandry and Conservation
Importance of Genetic Diversity in Whooping Cranes (Adobe PDF File)

See our Whooping Crane Videos!