Whooping Crane
Whooping Crane Facts
Teaching Suggestions
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| Eva Szyszkoski | Klaus Nigge | Vickie Henderson | Klaus Nigge |
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| Contributed by Ornithology Expert Laura Erickson | |||
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- How big are whooping cranes?
- What color are whooping cranes?
- Why are these birds called whooping cranes?
- How are whooping cranes different from sandhill cranes?
- How is a whooping crane's body adapted to its lifestyle and habitat?
- What do whoopers look like when they're flying?
Life Cycle
- How long do whooping cranes live?
- At what age (breeding age) do whooping cranes hatch their first young?
- Do cranes mate for life?
- Why do cranes have such an elaborate courtship dance?
- What is a whooping crane nest like?
- How many eggs do cranes normally lay?
- How long does it take for whooper eggs to hatch?
- What color are whooping crane chicks?
- What is the most fascinating thing Journey North expert Dr. Tom Stehn has learned about the whooping crane since conducting research on cranes?
- When do young whoopers learn to fly?
- Why is the survival of young Whooping Crane chicks greater during years with high water levels than during years with low water levels in the breeding area?
Ecology
- What do whooping cranes eat?
- What happens to cranes when blue crabs are in scarce supply?
- What
is the whooping crane's place in the ecosystem?
Behavioral Adaptations: Migration
- What do cranes eat when getting ready for their migration?
- Do cranes travel together when they migrate?
- What might be some advantages for whooping cranes to migrate in very small groups rather than big flocks?
- Do all the whoopers leave at the same time from their Texas winter home?
- When cranes travel, do the groups with inexperienced flyers leave sooner than adult cranes because the flight may take them longer?
- Where do whooping cranes spend the winter?
- How far is the whooping cranes' migration?
- When do whoopers leave their wintering grounds in Texas?
- Why do cranes depart at almost the identical time each spring?
- How do cranes prepare for the journey north?
- When do the cranes arrive in their breeding (summer) home in Canada?
- What do the cranes do first upon arrival back in Canada in the spring?
- How fast do cranes fly during migration?
- How far do cranes usually fly each day when they migrate north?
- Why is the timing of the cranes' migration so important?
- Why do birds face into high winds, and take off directly into headwinds?
- What are the best weather conditions for crane migration?
- What are the least favorable weather conditions for migrating cranes?
- What do migrating whoopers do during bad weather?
- How do whooping cranes find their way when storms blow them far off course?
- Do all the cranes survive the migration?
- What are some of the hazards that Whooping Cranes face on their long migrations?
- How are whooping cranes important to the ecosystem?
Food
Conservation
- How do humans affect the migration of the whooping crane?
- How did the study of whooping cranes begin?
- What is the whooping cranes' status as an endangered species?
- What is scientists' biggest worry about whooping cranes?
- How fast is the whooping crane population growing?
- What has been done to increase the numbers of this endangered species?
- Why are whooping cranes being reintroduced to eastern North America?
- Who decides how many additional populations are needed?
- Was Wisconsin the first site considered for reintroduction?
- Why was Wisconsin considered as a reintroduction site?
- How was the specific site for reintroduction in Wisconsin chosen?
- Where do the birds for reintroductions come from?
- How are the birds reintroduced?
- How do ultralight-led birds know the way back home by themselves?
- Why is the new Wisconsin/Florida migratory flock called nonessential experimental?
- What is the reintroduction goal in Wisconsin?
- What will it take to get whooping cranes off the endangered species list?