Watch a Whooping Crane Hatch!
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Film clip Operation Migration

Whooping Crane Hatching!

The chick that just hatched from this egg will belong to a very special group of chicks. In a bold migration experiment started in 2001, whooping cranes have been raised in captivity and reintroduced, or brought back again, to eastern North America.

The whooping crane eggs for this project hatch in April and May at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center near Laurel, Maryland.

The chick that just hatched will take off in 6-7 months (with other captive-hatched chicks) on their first migration. Because they don't have parents, an ultralight airplane will teach them the way!

An average whooping crane egg is 102 mm (4 inches) long. It weighs 208 grams (7 ounces). Whooping crane eggs are incubated, on average, for 30 days.


Try This! Link to Lesson
Imagine being a chick inside this egg! Learn more about crane eggs and take a pretend trip inside one with this Journey North lesson:


Journey North is pleased to feature this educational adventure
made possible by the
Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership.