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WHOOPING
CRANE
Fun Facts
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- Whooping
cranes are the tallest birds in the United States, standing
at five feet tall with a seven-foot wingspan.
- The Whooping crane, affectionately nicknamed "whooper,"
is named for its unusual call, which can be heard from up to two miles away. Its scientific name is Grus Americana.
- Whoopers
don’t mate until the age of four, but they mate for life after
engaging in a dramatic courtship dance of calling, wing flapping, head
bowing, jumping, bobbing and weaving. This mating ritual actually affects the biological rhythms of the cranes and helps prepare them for reproduction.
- Whooping cranes have 20 neck bones. Humans have only seven.
- Whooper
chicks sleep standing up.
- A Japanese
legend asserts that if you fold 1,000 origami cranes, you will be granted
one important wish.
- Sandhill cranes, cousins of the whooper, often serve as surrogate parents for whooping cranes raised in captivity.
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