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Species Profile for Whooping crane (Grus americana) <br />Species Profile <br />Environmental Conservation Online System <br />Page 1 of 6 <br />Whooping crane (Grus americana) <br />Kingdom: Animalia Class: Aves Order: Gruiformes Family: Gruidae <br />Listing Status: Endangered and Experimental Population, Non-Essential <br />Quick links: Federal Register Action Plans Recovery Critical Habitat <br />Conservation Plans Petitions Life History Other Resources <br />General Information <br />The whooping crane occurs only in North America and is North America's tallest bird, with males approaching 1.5 m <br />(5 ft) when standing erect. The whooping crane adult plumage is snowy white except for black primaries, black or <br />grayish alula (specialized feathers attached to the upper leading end of the wing), sparse black bristly feathers on the <br />carmine crown and malar region (side of the head from the bill to the angle of the jaw), and a dark gray-black wedge- <br />shaped patch on the nape. The common name "whooping crane" probably originated from the loud, single-note <br />vocalization given repeatedly by the birds when they are alarmed. Whooping cranes are a long-lived species; current <br />estimates suggest a maximum longevity in the wild of at least 30 years. Whooping cranes currently exist in the wild at <br />3 locations and in captivity at 12 sites. The July 2010 total wild population was estimated at 383. There is only one <br />self-sustaining wild population, the Aransas-Wood Buffalo National Park population, which nests in Wood Buffalo <br />National Park and adjacent areas in Canada, and winters in coastal marshes in Texas at Aransas. In addition, there is <br />a small captive-raised, non-migratory population in central Florida, and a small migratory population of individuals <br />introduced beginning in 2001 that migrate between Wisconsin and Florida in an eastern migratory population. The last <br />remaining wild bird in the reintroduced Rocky Mountain Population died in the spring of 2002. The captive population <br />contained 152 birds in July, 2010, with annual production from the Calgary Zoo, International Crane Foundation, <br />Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Audubon Species Survival Center, and the San Antonio Zoo. The total population <br />of wild and captive whooping cranes in July, 2010, was 535. <br />Population detail <br />The FWS is currently monitoring the following populations of the Whooping crane <br />• <br />,ties occurrence <br />LEVA IT A - PA r.G A - 8 <br />http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=BO03 4/12/2011