DODGE COUNTY, WI (WTAQ) – An endangered animal across North America is making a bit of a comeback locally.
Whooping cranes have been spotted throughout the marsh near Waupun and are settling into their new home at the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge.
Hillary Thompson with the International Crane Foundation of North America explains how big of a deal this is.
“Not everyone will see one in their lifetime, so it’s pretty special to see one,” she says. “It’s always great to see Whooping cranes in the wild.”
Less than 700 cranes exist in the wild throughout North America and about 100 of them are right here in Wisconsin
Experts didn’t anticipate something that happened two years ago, though.
A male whooping crane actually nested with a Sandhill Crane.
Workers then took a bit of a gamble by reintroducing the male to a new female whooping crane.
“We weren’t sure that it really was going to work,” says Thompson. “It’s not something that we’ve done before.”
The gamble paid off and workers will spend time teaching the rest of the family to migrate south for the winter.
Their hope is that the birds keep returning to Horicon in the future.
