Endangered Species Facts

Captive-raised whooping crane chicks had no parents to show them the way south, so pilots in white crane costumes did it instead. The chicks heard a recording of an ultralight engine while still in the egg, then followed the tiny plane 1,200 miles from Wisconsin to Florida. In all, 186 cranes learned the route that way, and their flock still migrates every year on its own.

Tahlequah is a wild orca off Seattle. In 2018, her newborn calf died. She refused to let the body sink. She carried it on her head for 17 days and nearly 1,000 miles. Scientists called it a Tour of Grief. Seven years later, she lost another calf. She carried that one for at least 11 days too. She loved deeply enough to grieve like this twice.