Researchers concerned after endangered whooping cranes test positive for bird flu

SASKATOON — A wildlife biologist says it’s deeply concerning that two dead members of a critically endangered flock of birds that only breed in Canadian marshes have tested positive for the avian flu.

Mark Bidwell with the Canadian Wildlife Service says the deaths in Saskatchewan mark the first time the highly pathogenic virus has been detected in the wild population of whooping cranes — Canada’s tallest bird.

“There are only about 550 (wild) whooping cranes so losing even one of them hits pretty hard because every single individual is vital to the survival of this species,” Bidwell said in an interview Wednesday.

“It’s the only wild and self-sustaining flock of whooping cranes in the world that we as Canadians are really fortunate to still have with us.”

Bidwell says he and his team discovered the first dead whooping crane in Meacham, a community east of Saskatoon, after noticing one of the satellite trackers Canadian Wildlife Service has tied on about 50 whooping cranes hadn’t moved in days.

On Oct. 9, when Bidwell tracked down the carcass, he learned it was a two-year-old female that his team marked with a tracker right after it was born in Wood Buffalo National Park, which straddles the boundary between Alberta and the Northwest Territories.

A second dead whooping crane was found 100 kilometres away in Leask, northwest of Saskatoon, nearly two weeks later by a birder.

Both birds tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza on Nov. 4, he said.

“It’s important to know that there are low pathogenic strains of H5 avian flu that are naturally common in wild birds and they don’t cause death or health effects. So, therefore, we needed to confirm that this was, in fact, a highly pathogenic strain of avian flu.”

The positive results are deeply concerning to Bidwell.

“These mortalities highlight that wildlife health is not isolated and when we see avian flu affecting a species as rare as whooping crane, it really underscores the reach of the virus,” he said.

Other crane species infected with the highly pathogenic flu have seen large-scale mortality events in Europe and the Middle East.

“And so this is certainly something that we are very concerned about.”

Bidwell said researchers are trying to confirm whether the flu has spread to other whooping cranes.

Bidwell said their counterparts in Texas, where the birds migrate in the winter months, hadn’t seen sign of spread as of Wednesday and all of the wildlife service’s trackers were moving.

The swan-white birds with red-crested heads can grow up to five feet tall and travel 4,000 kilometres every year from the Northwest Territories, through the Prairie provinces, before resting in Texas.

They can live up to 30 years.

They breed exclusively in Canada during the summer and are known to perform intricate dances to attract their mates.

“They can spend up to six weeks around Saskatoon, on the Canadian Prairies, and they’re feeding, raising their chicks and getting ready for the longer flight to Texas during that time.”

The black feathers on the tips of their wings can only be seen when they are flying.

“They’re almost prehistoric in how they look. They are large, lanky, stunningly beautiful birds,” he said.

Bidwell said before European colonization of North America, there were about 10,000 whooping cranes.

They declined to about 14 by the 1940s due to hunting and habitat loss.

In the 1950s, the species made a comeback after Canada and the United States passed legislation to protect migratory birds and habitats.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 14, 2026.

— by Fakiha Baig in Edmonton

The Canadian Press