Louisiana’s First Wild Whooping Crane Since 1939 Has Hatched

It only took a human-lifetime! For the first time in 77 years, a whooping crane has hatched in the wild in Louisiana.

There are only about 600 whooping cranes left in the world, all descended from 15 in Texas. this makes the 5-foot-tall birds one of the most endangered birds on the planet.

So far this year, there have been some disappointments. One pair of whooping cranes laid infertile eggs, while two others laid eggs that were fertile but never hatched, as the embryos had died.

There's still a chance for this chick to have a baby brother or sister in the next few days, as whooping cranes usually lay two eggs. Although, usually only one chick survives.

Another pair of whooping cranes laid eggs about two weeks ago. Biologists won't know the outcome of those eggs for another couple of weeks, due to hatching usually taking about 30 days.