Whooping Cranes by Charles Beckendorf

Each autumn, the whooping crane undertakes a 2,600-mile journey from its Canadian breeding grounds in Wood Buffalo National Park to the oak savannahs, marshes, salt flats, and bays of Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on the Texas Coast. Between 1870 and 1893, human activities, such as ranching, farming, and hunting, led to the depletion of whooping cranes and their habitats. By 1918, only a handful of these birds remained in Texas, with the last one sighted on the King Ranch in 1937. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service established the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge that same year, where 18 or 19 birds were counted. Since 1950, there has been a gradual increase in whooper numbers, with 132 birds visiting the refuge in the last season. This image, part of Charles Beckendorf's Texas Wildlife collection, is a 14" x 11" print from an acrylic painting on canvas created in 1992, with a total edition size of 500.

• Annual Migration: Whooping Cranes Travel 2,600 Miles
• Historical Decline: Hunters and Settlers Reduce Whooper Population
• Last Whooper on King Ranch: 1937
• Recovery Since 1950: Whooper Numbers Increase to 132