The endangered whooping crane, or Grus Americana, has endured a tumultuous past in the Americas. Before non-native American settlement, there were thought to be as many as 20,000 of the birds. Human encroachment on their habitat soon brought their numbers to 1,400 in 1860, further dropping to just 15 surviving whopping cranes in 1941.

 

Biologists intervened, bringing the numbers back to 214 in 2005. The birds stand as tall as 5 feet, with a wingspan of more than 7 feet. Today, they live primarily in Florida and Texas, and they migrate to Wisconsin.