Just hatched!

ICF’s captive Whooping Cranes are laying eggs and the wild Whooping Cranes are nesting in Wisconsin. Breeding season is here!

Black flies may be responsible for a high number of Whooping Cranes abandoning their nests in the core reintroduction area in central Wisconsin. To test this hypothesis, the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP), the coalition of public and private groups that is reintroducing Whooping Cranes to eastern North America, has been conducting a multi-year study to examine the causes of nest abandonment.

On Sunday, May 12, 2013, the International Crane Foundation is celebrating Mother’s Day by giving free admission to all moms. Open 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, visitors can take guided nature walks, enjoy arts and crafts, and learn about the incredible role ICF aviculturists play as “crane moms” raising captive-bred Whooping Crane chicks for release into the wild.

The International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, WI and its unique collection of the world’s cranes has been a favorite Wisconsin school field trip destination since 1978. Over 6,000 students per year visit ICF and take home the important lesson that each of us plays a role in the relationship between cranes, humans, and the natural systems on which all forms of life depend.

Since 2001, the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP), an international coalition of public and private agencies, has been working to establish a self-sustaining migratory population of Whooping Cranes in eastern North America. Read more to download the WCEP 2012 Annual Report.