Common cranes and whooping cranes face welfare challenges during migration from hunting, power line collision, and loss of staging habitat.
Cranes shot during migration suffer direct welfare harm while disruption of family groups from any cause causes social distress in these long-lived pair-bonded birds. Power line collisions cause traumatic injury and death. Loss of traditional staging habitats forces longer flights depleting energy reserves. Conservation programs that protect staging habitats and mark power lines prevent welfare harms at population scale.