At another nearby marsh, the last breeding pair of Iowa whooping cranes was also setting on eggs. By now, both crane species had become exceedingly rare and serious collectors were paying a premium for their eggs or skins. Consequently, and in a remarkably callous display of short-sighted greed, the female whooper was shot while sitting on the nest; her hide and eggs promptly collected. Although the male was pursued at length, the bird eluded capture and was finally driven from the area.

The shameful incident marked the very last time that a pair of whooping cranes attempted to nest anywhere in the continental United States. Today, the only self-sustaining population of whooping cranes breeds in northern Canada and winters in Texas. Biologists, mainly as a result of captive breeding projects, are currently attempting to re-establish three whooper populations in the Lower ’48. The closest attempt is in Wisconsin.

Faring somewhat better than their larger cousins, a fragile mid-continent population of sandhill cranes managed to survive within the undeveloped reaches of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. These birds have shown significant gains during recent years and are currently expanding their Midwestern range. In 1992, breeding sandhill cranes returned to Iowa when two successful nests were documented at Tama County’s Otter Creek Wildlife Area.