Cranes are among the most iconic migratory birds, with several species critically endangered, facing welfare threats during migration stopovers and from the loss of wetland breeding and wintering habitats.
Crane welfare is shaped by the extraordinary demands of long-distance migration across increasingly fragmented landscapes. Cranes stopping at traditional wetland stopover sites that have been drained or developed face starvation and exhaustion as they search for alternative feeding sites. Breeding populations disturbed by recreational activity show reduced nest success. Captive-reared cranes used in population supplementation programmes require specialist care to ensure they are not imprinted on humans, with welfare and conservation implications for their long-term survival and reproduction in the wild.