Rare Endangered Whooping Crane Hatches at Virginia Conservation Institute
Photo: Chris Crowe, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute For the first time, awhooping crane chick has hatchedat the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) in Front Royal, Virginia. On Friday, the Virginia facility announced that the whooping crane, which is one of the most endangered species of crane in the world, hatched on May 26 and has been “thriving” ever since. The International Crane Foundation and Necedah National Wildlife Refuge found the egg abandoned in a wild nest in Wisconsin and passed the discovery on to SCBI, so the institute’s bird team could take the arriving crane under its wing....