At five feet tall, and with a wingspan of over seven feet, the whooping crane has the distinction of being North America’s tallest bird and, sadly, also one of its rarest. Habitat loss caused by European settlers reduced the population to just 15 birds by the 1940s. Since then, in an intense effort to protect and restore the species, a broad coalition of NGOs, private interests, and government agencies has worked collectively and tirelessly to nurture the remaining wild flock to its current population of about eight hundred.