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Researchers Concerned After Endangered Whooping Cranes Test Positive for Bird Flu
Two whooping cranes from a migratory population tested positive for highly pathogenic H5N1, raising concerns for the critically endangered flock of about 550 birds, officials said.
- Canadian wildlife authorities announced on Jan. 14, 2026, that two endangered whooping cranes found dead near Saskatoon this fall tested positive for avian influenza, the first detection in the wild population.
- Biologists tracing a GPS tag discovered the first carcass in October after the tracker stopped moving, and a member of the public later found a second carcass about 100 kilometres away as tests confirmed avian flu.
- Field investigators reported both carcasses were scavenged to near-skeletons within days, and researchers say the birds likely caught the virus by sharing habitat with geese or other wild birds.
- Researchers are now on the ground trying to confirm whether the flu has spread to other whooping cranes, a concern because the Aransas-Wood Buffalo population numbers about 560 wild birds.
- Given the species' history, whooping cranes fell from about 10,000 in Canada long ago to just 15 survivors in the 1940s, and a captive death in the Wisconsin breeding program last year highlights ongoing risks.
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Total News Sources32
Leaning Left26Leaning Right1Center1Last UpdatedBias Distribution93% Left
Bias Distribution
- 93% of the sources lean Left
93% Left
L 93%
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