​Crane Sustainability Program
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​Collectively, the Conservation Centers have experience in maintaining and breeding various species of cranes. Despite being highly revered for their beauty and their interesting and complex behavior, cranes are one of the most endangered groups of birds.  Recent counts predict that as many as eleven of the fifteen crane species worldwide are threatened.​

​​C2S2 is focused on creating a self-sustaining population of wattled cranes as a model that can then be applied more broadly to other crane species under threat. A workshop led by C2S2 was held in May 2012 at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) that trained avian curators at the Conservation Centers on artificial insemination (AI) techniques for crane species. As a result, Conservation Centers have increased productivity through AI techniques. Out of this increased production at the Conservation Centers, the AZA wattled crane population is on track to grow this year.

​Participating C2S2 Institutions:

​ Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, and White Oak Conservation