Old birds are the best guides if you're making a long trip

摘要

If cranes want to avoid extinction, they should listen to their elders. It turns out that the endangered whooping crane passes crucial wisdom down the generations. Last century, the number of wild whooping cranes (Grus americana), the largest bird in the US, plummeted to less than 20. At the US Geological Survey's Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Wisconsin, the birds are now raised after hatching by researchers dressed as cranes. This tricks the birds into thinking the people are their parents, allowing the team to later guide young birds to migrate south to Florida for the winter by leading them in ultralight aircraft. The birds return unaided in the spring.