Whooping Cranes Learned to Migrate by Following Costumed Pilots
Summary
This investigative long-form piece chronicles the historical effort to restore the eastern population of whooping cranes using costumed pilots in ultralight aircraft. It confirms the viral claim, details the 15-year program, the numbers involved (186 cranes, 1,200 miles per flight), the reasons the program ended, and the current status of the crane population.