The whooping crane is one of the world’s rarest birds and is listed as endangered in the United States. Conversion of the species’ prairie and wetland habitat to farmland and unregulated hunting led to the decline of this species both in Louisiana and across the nation. In 2011, LDWF and partners began a project to return whooping cranes to the state for the first time since 1950, releasing 10 juvenile cranes into the wild at White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area. Please consider supporting LDWF