Cranes are among the world's most threatened birds. Their welfare during long migrations and at wintering sites is shaped by habitat availability, hunting pressure, and climate change.
Wild crane welfare is shaped by the cumulative stresses of migration across heavily modified landscapes. Individual cranes face threats including hunting in some range countries, lead poisoning from agricultural fields, collision with power lines and wind turbines, and loss of staging habitats where they must refuel during long migrations. Climate change is altering the timing of migration and the availability of food at traditional staging sites. Conservation efforts that have recovered the whooping crane from near-extinction demonstrate what is possible with sustained commitment — but individual welfare during that recovery period involved considerable human intervention, including captive breeding, ultralight-guided migration, and intensive monitoring.