Whooping cranes are graceful, expressive and curious creatures. With the help of conservation science, these endangered treasures of North America are flying back from the brink of extinction. Get acquainted with these big, beautiful birds in this Q A with Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute keeper Chris Crowe. STORY: https://s.si.edu/3uSRjda. | Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

We protect Platte River habitat for migrating cranes. Each spring, more than a million Sandhill Cranes fill Nebraska’s skies, a migration so vast it transforms the Central Platte River Valley. But it wasn’t always secure. In 1978, the Crane Trust was established through a court-approved settlement over the building of Grayrocks Dam to protect the Whooping Crane’s river habitat under the Endangered Species Act. What began as a legal obligation became a lasting commitment to care for this river an