10K views · 496 reactions | 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 | Facebook

Join writer Doreen Pfost for the annual crane migration, when more than half a million Sandhill cranes and a small population of the endangered whooping crane descend on the Platte River to fuel up before continuing north to their breeding grounds in Canada. Explore more at pbs.org/watershed | Nebraska Public Media