The ‘Hope’ and ‘Hope Two’ Conservation Story

If you identify as a naturalist, conservationist, or environmentalist you’ll appreciate the depth of meaning weaved through the Hope story.

One of the most elegant animal rituals on the planet is The Whooping Crane mating ritual.

One of the most precious mating rituals is that of endangered species. 

 

Renowned for their elegant dances and mating rituals, they’ve inspired dancers and artists throughout history. No creature makes such a display and magnificent effort to win a mate.

This is captured in Hope.

Hope Two is proof of a successful courtship AND successful conversation efforts. Without either, the Whooping Crane faces extinction.

Peak through the tall marshy grasses and you'll see a Whooping Crane nest. A brand new baby sits on a shell, somehow knowing a brother or sister is coming.

An impressive bird, tall with a 6 foot wing span, lovingly watches over the next generation of Whooping Cranes. 

The crane message of starting over has become all too real.

The importance of the setting – Woods Buffalo National Park.

The largest National Park in Canada protects one of the world’s most important and treasured nesting sites for birds. These breeding grounds were declared a World Heritage Site in 1983 and are the only breeding grounds for the Whooping Crane.

 

 

The irony of the crane message of ‘starting over’ cannot be lost on us. After thousands of years of travelling up and down the ‘Central Flyway’ they are now rebounding from near extinction.

According to National Geographic, only 16 birds were recorded at one point during the 1940’s.

Though still a rare sight today, the Whooping Crane is making its return and possibly expanding its Breeding territory.

Currently, the Whooping Crane has only one summer breeding ground in the world. That’s the Peace-Athabasca Delta located in Northern Canada - one of the world’s largest boreal, freshwater deltas.

This nesting site was declared a World Heritage Site in 1983. It is also occupies a section of Canada’s largest National Park – Woods Buffalo National Park.

Woods Buffalo National Park was established in 1922 to protect one of the last remaining herds of bison in northern Canada and now protects one of the most concentrated nesting environments for geese and ducks on earth.

The Peace Athabasca Delta lies beneath several major migration flyway zones, including The ‘Central Flyway’.

For thousands of years, each spring and fall, the entire population of whooping cranes migrates through Nebraska, North Dakota and several states along the ‘Central Flyway’.

From Wood Buffalo Park, the cranes fly until they reach their wintering sites at and near Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas.

As a result of legal protection, such as the Endangered Species Act and the Nebraska Nongame and Endangered Species Conservation Act, as well as local conservation efforts, organization like the International Crane Foundation, whooping crane numbers have increased slowly.

The revival of the Whooping Crane is a true North American conversationalist effort.

Cranes have long carried the message of starting over. Now, they are living proof it can be done.

If this message resonates with you, having Hope and/or Hope Two prominent in your space will certainly bring deep meaning, energy and vibrancy to your environment.