Aircraft Lead Way for Crane Migration
Ultralight planes led a flock of whooping cranes into New Mexico, the latest leg of a journey to teach the majestic white birds how to migrate and prevent their extinction. The migration, which began in Grace, Idaho, was in the sixth day of an 800-mile odyssey to see if the whoopers will follow ultralight planes to winter nesting grounds at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, 80 miles south of Albuquerque. Just 371 whooping cranes are known to exist. The only migratory flock, 180 whoopers, flies between Canada and Texas.
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