Texas Fauna Project

Whooping Crane

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Tom Stehn worked for a generation as a biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, with much of his effort focused on the recovery of the endangered whooping crane. Fortunately, the crane's winter numbers at the Refuge have grown from 15 in the late 1940s to over 500 in 2020. However, he sees current and future threats from climate change, including sea level rise and the northward movement of black mangroves, as well as coastal residential development.