Two rescued male sandhill cranes have found sanctuary at the Detroit Zoo after being rescued and rehabilitated.
One of the cranes was found as a chick in 2002 with a wing problem. He was examined at the International Crane Foundation in Wisconsin and it was determined he would not survive in the wild.
The second crane was rescued in South Lyon in 2015 with a badly injured wing, requiring amputation of the wing tip, leaving him unable to fly.
“The sandhill cranes’ story is particularly compelling because these two boys represent an iconic, native Michigan species, and they are rehabilitated, non-releasable birds that have found a great home at the Detroit Zoo,” said Detroit Zoological Society Chief Life Sciences Officer Scott Carter.
Sandhill cranes were once at risk of extinction due to habitat loss and low reproduction rates. The U.S. population has rebounded in a number of states after years of conservation and recovery efforts, which include habitat protection and restoration, and protection from hunting.
The sandhill cranes at the Detroit Zoo are residing in a grassy habitat with a pond just west of the guanacos.
