After Long Struggle, Whooping Crane Population Hits Milestone By Sylvia Moreno, Washington Post Staff Writer

The whooping crane, the tallest bird in North America, whose numbers dwindled to fewer than 20 in 1941, is not only back from the brink of extinction but also thriving — a comeback story, federal wildlife officials say, that illustrates how a coordinated conservation effort can save a species.

“The whooping crane continues to mirror the success of endangered species recovery when man sets his mind to it,” said Tom Stehn, the national whooping crane coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “We have come a long way, but we do have a long, long way to go.”

This year, the nation’s only natural wild population of whooping cranes reached a milestone. Stehn’s mid-December census of the migratory crane flock at the wildlife refuge, where he is based, numbered 237. Combined with the number of birds in captivity in three special flocks raised for reintroduction to the wild and those in zoos, the crane population now numbers 518. This is the first time in more than a century that whooping cranes have numbered more than 500. …

The cranes numbered just over 20 in the first census, in 1938. By 1941, the migratory flock was down to 15, largely because of shooting, the conversion of grasslands to agriculture and the draining of wetlands.

“This species was virtually four nesting females away from extinction, and that’s why this is so significant,” Stehn said. “It was just such a close call, such an incredibly close call.” …

The whooping crane is likely to remain on the endangered species list until the migratory flock numbers more than 5,000 ….