LDWF Whooping Crane Population Adds Record 10 Fledged Chicks During 2026 Nesting Season

Baton Rouge, Jul 22, 2026 - Louisiana’s whooping crane nesting season was bountiful as a total of 10 chicks fledged this year. It was a record-setting spring with the 10 fledged chicks, the most ever in the state’s experimental whooping crane reintroduction project, which was initiated by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) in 2011.

The 10 fledged chicks surpasses the record of eight recorded in 2022. It is also the most ever for any whooping crane reintroduction project. A total of 18 nesting pairs were successful in hatching eggs this season.

It brings the Louisiana whooping crane population to 84, 32 of which were wild-hatched in the state. The first wild-hatched Louisiana chick in the project came in April of 2016, the first hatch in the state in more than 75 years.

Louisiana’s whooping crane reintroduction project began in 2011 when 10 juvenile whooping cranes were released at the White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area in Vermilion Parish to initiate the non-migratory flock. This marked a significant conservation milestone with the first wild whooping cranes in Louisiana since 1950.

“As the population gets older, we see some of the breeding pairs have more success probably because of experience,’’ said LDWF Biologist Sara Zimorski, who oversees the whooping crane project. “We have some pairs that are rock solid, they’re consistently successful, it’s like they have figured it out. One has fledged four chicks in the past four years.”

“Having 18 of the 20 pairs that nested hatch chicks is the highest percentage we’ve ever had to do that. For that many to successfully incubate and hatch at least one chick was wonderful to see. And of course even for the pairs who didn’t succeed in fledging their chicks it was still good experience for them and a step in the right direction.’’

Zimorski said even a few of the newer breeding pairs were successful this season. One pair nested in 2025 but didn’t hatch a chick. This year, however, they successfully fledged a chick.

The total also included a fledged chick from a pair that were both wild-hatched in Louisiana, a significant accomplishment for the program.

Anyone encountering a whooping crane is advised to observe the bird from a distance and to report the sighting to LDWF at LDWF’s whooping crane reporting webpage. Whooping cranes are large-bodied, white birds with a red head and black facial markings. Birds measure a height of five feet and have a wingspan of seven to eight feet that makes them very distinctive. In flight, whooping cranes display black wing tips and a fully extended neck, and legs, which extend well beyond the tail.

Whooping cranes are federally protected by the Endangered Species Act as well as Louisiana law. Anyone witnessing suspicious activity involving whooping cranes is advised to call the LDWF’s Enforcement Division at 1-800-442-2511 or use the tip411 program, which may offer a cash reward for information leading to arrests or convictions. To use the tip411 program, citizens can text LADWF and their tip to 847411 or download the "LADWF Tips" iPhone app from the Apple iTunes store free of charge. Citizen Observer, the tip411 provider, uses technology that removes all identifying information before LDWF receives the text so that LDWF cannot identify the sender. 

Visit the LDWF whooping crane webpage for more information on the whooping crane project. And to donate to the project, visit the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation (LAWFF) whooping crane reintroduction webpage.

See the whooping crane photo page for more pictures of the chicks.