Fort Smith (Feb 24/03) - In life, Canus the whooping crane was instrumental in saving his species from extinction.

And now, Canada and the United States both want to preserve and display the body of the legendary whooping crane, which died last month in Maryland.

Under a 1993 agreement by members of the International Whooping Crane Recovery Team, Northern Life Museum in Fort Smith has the right to bring Canus back to the NWT after he died.

The bird was found in nearby Wood Buffalo National Park by the Canadian Wildlife Service nearly 39 years ago. Don Jaque, the chair of Northern Life Museum, says Canus should come home.

"It would be very positive for the museum and would mean a lot for the residents of the South Slave," Jaque says.

However, officials at Patuxent Wildlife Research Centre in Maryland -- where Canus spent almost all of his life -- are reluctant to see Canus head north and want to confirm an agreement was made.

The bird had a unique feature - he had only one wing. The other was amputated because of an injury.

When Canus -- 'Can' for Canada and 'us' for United States -- was captured, there were only about 40 whooping cranes in the wild. Canus was sent to the U.S. to start a highly successful captive breeding program.

When he died, Canus's descendants numbered 186.