Young Whooping Crane

I photographed this young Whooping Crane at the Calgary Zoo Ranch, where they have a breeding program. Information from the Calgary Zoo website explains that "the Calgary Zoo’s Conservation Fund is proud to support and participate in the Whooping Crane Recovery Program as part of a joint Canada-U.S. plan to bring these elegant birds back from the brink of extinction. Probably the most well-known endangered species in Canada, the Whooping Crane population dropped to a low of 16 individuals in the 1940s."