Whooping cranes were almost extinct — until Canadian ornithologist George Archibald learned to dance with them

Social Sharing
In 1954, an eight-year-old George Archibald was sitting in a one-room school in Nova Scotia when he heard a CBC radio program about whooping cranes in Northern Canada.
It was a dramatization: actors portrayed two cranes, and one was panicking about their nesting grounds being discovered, fearing the cranes would soon be killed. Her mate reassured her that they lived in an area protected by the Canadian government and they were safe.
That program changed Archibald's life — and the cranes' future. As an adult, he devoted himself to conservation, co-founding the International Crane Foundation (ICF) and spending more than five decades facilitating the birds' stunning recovery.
In the 1940s, there were fewer than 20 whooping cranes left. Today, there are more than 800, though they are still an endangered species. Dances With Cranes, an episode of The Nature of Things, features a year in the life of whooping cranes and the humans saving them from extinction.
Wooing a bird that loved only humans
Dances With Cranes has a very literal meaning — Archibald's work to bring back whooping cranes from the brink of extinction involved deep knee bends, flapping his arms, and jumping up and down.
In the 1960s, a whooping crane — which came to be known as Tex — was hatched and raised in a zoo, but mistakes were made in her upbringing.
"The director of the zoo took this little bird into his home, and it became hopelessly imprinted on humans," Archibald says in the documentary. "For 10 years, they tried pairing Tex to a male crane. She had absolutely no interest in cranes, but when male zookeepers walked by, she would start dancing."
Archibald offered to work with Tex, and she was sent to the ICF in 1976. To trigger her reproductive cycle — so she could be artificially inseminated — Archibald learned to dance like a crane. Dancing is the bird's language of courtship.
And after seven years, it worked. Tex laid a viable egg, producing a whooping crane named Gee Whiz. That bird produced 26 of his own offspring, which in turn resulted in about 130 more chicks.
One Canadian's lifelong mission to save the whooping crane
35 minutes ago
Duration 5:47
George Archibald, co-founder of the International Crane Foundation, once sat down with David Suzuki to talk about his work bringing the whooping crane back from the brink of extinction. 45 years later, Sarika Cullis-Suzuki visits Archibald to see the impact of his efforts. Watch Dances with Cranes now on CBC Gem and The Nature of Things YouTube channel.
A female crane born to Gee Whiz became the first of the lineage to breed in the wild.
The unique story and remarkable success earned Archibald his 15 minutes of fame: an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
Archibald received a devastating phone call just before his interview: raccoons had entered Tex's enclosure and killed her.
On stage, Archibald told Carson what had happened, and the studio audience gasped.
"All across the country, I think a good portion of the 22 million people did the same," Archibald later told Audubon magazine. "And I think whooping cranes likely got a lot more sympathy through Tex's death than from her dance."
Helping cranes to thrive in the wild
Archibald's work in crane conservation has won him countless awards, four honorary doctorates and the Order of Canada. And the ICF continues to be a lifeline for all 15 crane species, working with specialists in more than 50 countries around the world.
At the ICF headquarters in Baraboo, Wis., about 100 cranes live in a captive flock. Captive breeding is often necessary to save an endangered species from extinction, but the goal is to see the birds flourishing in the wild.
"The last thing in the world you want is [for them] to be fixated on humans," Archibald says.
Dances With Cranes shows ICF staff donning elaborate crane costumes and interacting with new chicks, encouraging them to forage for food. It's a laborious blend of rearing and caretaking, with the hopes the birds will eventually join an existing wild flock. The ICF also encourages adult whooping cranes to raise chicks when possible.
Archibald says he has approached his decades of work with optimism and patience and quotes his mother as inspiration: "The only way to get something done is to do it."
"I saw the crane foundation right from the beginning as a fertile egg that had to be incubated with the proper conditions, and at some point it's going to hatch," he says. "And I feel that way about all of our projects — that they're very difficult, but through faith and hard work, eventually you'll have a hatch."

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Cision Canada

5 hours ago

• Cision Canada

Pizza 73 Celebrates the Heart of Oil Country with Free Heart Pizzas for Fans

EDMONTON, AB, June 22, 2025 /CNW/ - Pizza 73, the beloved Alberta-born pizza chain and official pizza partner of the Edmonton Oilers, is celebrating Oilers Country after an unforgettable season that brought pride, passion, and unity to fans across Alberta. On Monday, June 23, from 1–4 p.m. MT, fans can visit one of seven participating Pizza 73 locations to receive a free Heart Pizza — a one-day-only, walk-in offer created to honour Oil Country's passion and pride. The Heart Pizza is a cheese or pepperoni medium pizza featuring a heart cut out in the center — symbolizing Edmonton's unwavering love for its team. "As an Alberta brand and long-standing partner of the Edmonton Oilers, we feel every moment of the season right alongside the fans," said Adam Williamson, Marketing Director at Pizza 73. "This team gave the city so much to be proud of, and this is our way of showing appreciation to the heart of the community — Oil Country." As a long-standing partner of the Edmonton Oilers, Pizza 73 has always been committed to supporting local communities and celebrating what brings Albertans together — especially their unwavering love for hockey. Participating Pizza 73 Heart Pizza locations — walk-in only, limit one per person: 10424 122 Street, T5N 1M3, Edmonton 10839-101 St, T5H 2S7, Edmonton 11435 Kingsway Ave, T5G 3E8, Edmonton 5003-118 Ave, T5W 1B8, Edmonton 9561 - 118 Ave NW, T5G 0P9, Edmonton #123 -16 Westway Road, T5T 4R4, Spruce Grove 5433 Gateway Blvd., T6H 2H3, Edmonton About Pizza 73 Pizza 73 was founded in 1985 in Edmonton, Alberta, and remains Canadian-owned and operated to this day. Today, there are over 100 Pizza 73 restaurants across Western Canada. Guided by their core promise, "Better meal. Better deal," the brand is celebrating 40 years in Western Canada this year. Its mission is to make every occasion with Pizza 73 an enjoyable and memorable experience by offering the highest quality fresh products and exemplary service. For more details and to stay updated, visit and follow Pizza 73 on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X. Campaign creative is by Zulu Alpha Kilo, with PR outreach led by spPR Inc.

Winnipeg Free Press

19 hours ago

• Winnipeg Free Press

Natalie Sue wins Leacock Medal for Humour for novel ‘I Hope This Finds You Well'

Natalie Sue's debut novel 'I Hope This Finds You Well' has won this year's Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour. The $25,000 award is given to the best Canadian book of literary humour published in the previous year. The novel follows the story of an office worker in her early thirties who one day stumbles upon all of her colleagues' private emails and decides to use their gossip to help save her job. 'I Hope This Finds You Well' was published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. Sue is a Calgary-based author of Iranian and British descent who spent her early years living in western Canada. Runners-up, who received $5,000 each, were Greg Kearney for 'An Evening With Birdy O'Day,' about an aging hairstylist who lost connection with his childhood best friend when he left to pursue a pop music career, and Patricia J. Parsons for 'We Came From Away: That Summer on the Rock,' which follows one woman's attempt to reconnect her family with Newfoundland. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 21, 2025.

Toronto Star

a day ago

• Toronto Star

Margaret Atwood guest of honour at masked ball that raised $1.5 million

On June 7 philanthropist Bruce Bailey held the third edition of his Canadian fête champêtre at his farm outside Toronto, raising $1.5 million. The gala celebrated fundraising for the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts; Canadian Opera Company; Pelee Island Bird Observatory; the Israel Museum, Jerusalem; and Calgary's Glenbow Museum. Margaret Atwood was guest of honour at the party, whose theme was 'un ballo in maschera' (a masked ball), and many of the 500 guests rose to the occasion by wearing elaborate masks and costumes. Performers included a Montreal circus group, opera soprano Ambur Braid and dancers from Canada's National Ballet School.