China zoo still searching for two rare cranes on the loose

Two nationally protected cranes have escaped from a Southwest China zoo, and employees are still trying to lure them back.

A threatened species and among the world’s rarest, the red-crowned crane is among the tallest, standing around 1.5 meters with a wingspan of up to 2.5 meters.

A group of three of the birds first flew the coop on Wednesday during a flight exercise that involved whistled commands from the ground at Guizhou Forest Wildlife Zoo.

Zookeeper Zhang Jing said the birds didn’t respond to his whistled signal to return and kept flying for around 30 minutes before disappearing from sight.

So far only one of the birds was found in a nearby village.

The zoo has since extended its search for the nationally protected birds to cover a 30-kilometer radius.

Cranes have previously gone missing during a similar flight training exercise, an employee from the zoo’s security division surnamed Hu told thepaper.cn, adding they had returned after three days.

An investigation is underway to evaluate if any misconduct was involved on the zookeeper’s part, the Guizhou Wildlife Inspection Station’s director surnamed Ran said on Saturday.

Native to East Asia, the red-crowned crane is considered a symbol of luck and longevity in Chinese culture. Historically, they are associated with emperors as a blessing for long life.