Revisiting the International Crane Foundation (Baraboo, WI)

Last week I mentioned that we made a return visit to the International Crane Foundation (ICF) near Baraboo, WI.  I wrote a long post about ICF after our first visit so I'm not going to say much about it today except to say that if you are ever in central Wisconsin near the towns of Wisconsin Dells or Baraboo you should definitely visit!  Need convincing?  Here are a few photos from our recent visit.

First up was the Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum).  This African species is currently listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The next photo is of a Wattled Crane (Bugeranus carunculatus).  Another African crane species, the Wattled Crane is listed as Vulnerable by IUCN.  It's population seems to be trending downward.

The final three crane photos are of North America's tallest bird the Whooping Crane (Grus americana).  This species is listed as Endangered by the IUCN.  Population estimates in 2016-17 list this species at less than 500 wild birds up from a population of only 15 adults in 1938!  During our previous Wisconsin trip in 2015 we were lucky enough to see one of the approximately 100 wild Whoopers that call Wisconsin home.

These are only three of the ten species that we saw.  The International Crane Foundation houses all fifteen of the world's crane species, but on both of our visits we have only managed to see ten species each time.  The final three three pics are of a sculpture on the path to the Whooping Crane exhibit.  This sculpture represents a single crane taking flight.