As the sun came up, 13 Thai eastern sarus cranes were released over a rippling reservoir in northeast Thailand, the latest effort to revive the almost-extinct species in the kingdom.
More commonly known as Thai cranes, the birds nearly disappeared from the country about 50 years ago — they were last spotted in the wild in 1968 — before the Thai government, Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo and the UN collaborated to save them.
A breeding program, using fowl donated by Cambodia, began in 1989, with the first reintroduction in 2011. The birds can grow to up to 1.8m and weigh almost 7kg.
Photo: AFP
Sarus cranes are classed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as “vulnerable.” There are an estimated 15,000 remaining in the wild, with the Thai sub-species having been thought to have disappeared from Thailand’s wild wetlands.
However, since 2011, more than 150 birds bred in captivity have been released in Buriram Province.
“It is the only place where the Thai cranes are able to live and reproduce on their own,” Buriram Governor Chaiwat Chuntirapong said.
Photo: AFP
The birds were transported in large, specially adapted boxes — their red-feathered heads watching through mesh windows — from the Wetland and Eastern Sarus Crane Conservation Center where they were bred to the Huai Chorakhe Mak Reservoir.
The latest flock of 13 cranes were released all at once on Christmas Day. The tall birds loudly honked and clumsily flapped as they unsteadily took to the skies accompanied by cheering children and spectators.
It was the final moment in a long journey for the researchers, who carefully nurtured the cranes from hatching, gradually introduced them to the wild and then took them to their final flight to freedom.
“The herdsman wears a suit that hides her body and wears a bird’s head puppet on her hands to teach the birds everything from feeding to familiarizing them with nature,” Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo researcher Tanat Uttaraviset said.
As a result of the long process, about 60 to 70 percent of the birds survive in the wild, he said.
Prior to their release, each bird is microchipped and tagged, enabling researchers to track them and improve conservation efforts.
As well as rearing and releasing the cranes, an important part of the program has been educating people about the species and the environment.
Huai Chorakhe Mak Reservoir was chosen partly due to its natural proliferation of water chestnuts — an important food source for cranes in the dry season.
However, their habitat remains threatened by the “widespread invasion of agriculture,” Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo director Thanachon Kensing said.
The zoo has established a learning cent re, teaching tourists and locals about how to better care for the environment the birds need to survive.
“Changing villagers’ attitudes is difficult, but if we can communicate with them ... this project will be successful,” Thanachon said.
Watching his red-headed charges soar off over the sparkling waters, Tanat had just one hope.
“The ultimate goal is to secure the crane population,” he said.
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