The NWTSA国际影视传媒檚 summer population of whooping cranes is booming.

SA国际影视传媒淭here were three times as many chicks hatched this year as there were whooping cranes in existence in 1941,SA国际影视传媒� says Rhona Kindopp, acting resource conservation manager with Parks Canada. Sixty-three were born this year.

Whooping cranes nest in Wood Buffalo National Park every year around May, and this year, there were 98 nesting pairsSA国际影视传媒攁 record number, says Kindopp. The total population of the flock is 430 cranes.

SA国际影视传媒淲hile thatSA国际影视传媒檚 still a low number, it is an amazing comeback from their near extinction last century,SA国际影视传媒� says Kindopp.

This rebound is believed to be caused by an influx of juvenile cranes that were born in 2010. Cranes enter the breeding population at between three and five years old.

SA国际影视传媒淎dditionally, the conditions were really excellent this year in the nesting area, with high water levels, which caused there to be more breeding habitat,SA国际影视传媒� says Kindopp. SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 easier for the cranes to find territory to build their nests.SA国际影视传媒�

Every year, the cranes make the 4,000-kilometre journey north from their wintering ground in Texas, near Aransas and San Antonio Bay. This summer, Hurricane Harvey tore through the area, threatening the cranesSA国际影视传媒� wintering grounds.

Kindopp says her department confers regularly over email with their colleagues in Texas, and it looks as if the wintering grounds were largely unharmed.

SA国际影视传媒淭he main concern related to hurricanes in the whooping cranes wintering habitat is saltwater overflowing into the freshwater ponds in that area, during and after a hurricane,SA国际影视传媒� says Kindopp, SA国际影视传媒淪o the high levels of salinity that that causes can reduce the whooping cranesSA国际影视传媒� food source (which is, primarily, wolfberries and blue crabs).SA国际影视传媒�

When this happens, officials in Texas will often pump freshwater back into the ponds to restore the right balance of salinity.

Those wishing to view the cranes at Wood Buffalo need to hope for a bit of luck, as the birds nest deep within the park, but Kindopp says the boom in population is also resulting in higher frequency of sightings.

There is one couple thatSA国际影视传媒檚 nested at the parkSA国际影视传媒檚 salt plains for the past three years, and visitors have been able to view them from afar through binoculars, or catch sight of them flying overhead.