Whooping Cranes

Wood Buffalo National Park, Alberta / Northwest Territories – Wood Buffalo National Park was etablished to protect the free-roaming bison who wander this region between northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories. It has wound up playing an important role in protecting the most famous endangered bird in North America – the Whooping Crane.

Each April breeding pairs of Whooping Cranes make their way 4000 miles from Texas to nest here, sometimes flying 10 hours non-stop at a time. Only 22 wild Whooping Cranes were believed to exist in 1941. By 1993 150 birds had been born to 16 decedents of that original group.

At 44,807 sq km, this is Canada’s largest, and one of the world’s largest National Parks. It’s actually larger than Switzerland. The park is 508 km from Fort McMurray, Alberta. It straddles the border between Alberta and the Northwest Territories, with the park headquarters  in Fort Smith NT. The actual nesting area is not identified here.