Whooping crane News

On June 16, keepers welcomed a new addition to our Front Royal, Virginia, campus — a whooping crane chick, or "colt," the fourth of its kind to have hatched in our care.

Three fluffy feathered friends have joined the flock at our Front Royal, Virginia, campus: one whooping crane and two red-crowned crane chicks!

For the first time, a whooping crane—one of the most endangered species of crane in the world —hatched May 26 and is thriving at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) in Front Royal, Virginia.

Whooping cranes are graceful, expressive and curious creatures. Get acquainted with these big, beautiful birds in this Q+A with Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute keeper Chris Crowe.

A scimitar-horned oryx, an elderly whooping crane and an Eld’s deer died at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) between Feb. 23 and Feb. 26.

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute is dedicated to saving species. Every year, its team of conservationists here and around the globe works hard to make that mission a reality — and 2018 was no exception.

Twelve whooping cranes, one of the most endangered species of crane in the world, moved to the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, Dec. 16. The six mated-pairs will be the founding members of SCBI’s whooping crane research and breeding program, and the chicks that...