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The whooping crane (Grus americana), the tallest bird in North America, has existed near the brink of extinction for decades, with its wild migratory population having dwindled to a single flock of 15 birds in the 1940s. However, following years of dedicated conservation work targeting illegal hunting and habitat loss, the wild population has grown to more than 500 birds.
This short film features tracking data tracing a whooping crane family during an annual 2,500-mile migration over the North American plains in 2022, from the Texas Gulf Coast to Wood Buffalo National Park in Alberta, Canada. Along the way, they must navigate a narrow and fraught flight path, dodging storms exacerbated by climate change and the ever-growing footprint of humanity. The result is immersive and engaging – a remarkable example of how data visualisation can be used to tell stories that elucidate complex issues.
Video by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Producers: Tom Swartwout, Michael Forsberg, Mark Bidwell, Mariah Lundgren
Animator: 422 South
video
Environmental history
In Kazakhstan, ‘atomic lakes’ still scar the landscape decades after Soviet nuclear tests
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Language and linguistics
Do button-pushing dogs have something new to say about language?
9 minutes
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Meaning and the good life
Why Orwell urged his readers to celebrate the spring, cynics be damned
11 minutes
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Animals and humans
One man’s quest to save an orphaned squirrel, as narrated by David Attenborough
14 minutes
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Earth science and climate
Images carved into film form a haunting elegy for a disappearing slice of Earth
3 minutes
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Animals and humans
Join seabirds as they migrate, encountering human communities along the way
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Biology
‘Save the parasites’ may not be a popular rallying cry – but it could be a vital one
11 minutes
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Computing and artificial intelligence
Why large language models are mysterious – even to their creators
8 minutes
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Evolution
The many ways a lizard tongue sticks, grasps, pinches and plops – in slo-mo
6 minutes