Zoo feted for bringing whooping cranes back

Being honoured for its efforts to restore the once critically endangered whooping crane to the wild is a true feather in the cap for the Calgary Zoo, officials say.

The zoo is being recognized, alongside several partner agencies, for its work rescuing the oncenearly-extinct whooping crane and its efforts to re-establish the bird’s wild population, with the 2016 North American Conservation Award from The Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

By 1944, whooping cranes were on the brink, with a mere 21 left in the wild as their wetland habitats began disappearing.

The zoo, partnering with the International Crane Foundation, San Antonio Zoo and Audubon Nature Institute, has helped restore the wild population to about 450, with another 150 in captivity in conservation sanctuaries, including its own Devonian Wildlife Conservation Centre just south of the city.

Jamie Dorgan, the zoo’s director of animal care, said conservation is the facility’s primary mission.

“We’re pretty proud of it, for sure,” he said. “It’s what we’re here for, ultimately. Everything we do is to try to help the conservation programs.”

In April, the grandchick of one of Calgary’s breeding birds become the first whooping crane to hatch in Louisiana since 1939, a historic marker as the population tries to establish itself in the southern U.S. For now, the most stable wild population of whooping cranes continues to live in Wood Buffalo National Park in northern Alberta.

Clement Lanthier, president and CEO of the Calgary Zoo, said the recognition shows the hard work being done is worthwhile.