Two years on, only two new Sarus cranes in GB Nagar, finds census
NOIDA: The city’s wetlands echo with the trumpeting calls of almost the same number of Sarus cranes, the world’s tallest flying birds, as they did two years back, shows the recent survey held by the forest department.
The summer census held by the district forest department on June 25 recorded the presence of a total of 142 Sarus cranes across five forest ranges and wetlands in Gautam Budh Nagar, of which were 122 were adults and 18 chicks.
Sarus crane, also the state bird of Uttar Pradesh, was last counted in June 2019, when the foresters had recorded 140 Sarus cranes roosting in the same ranges, of which there were total 114 adults and 26 chicks.
According to the census, with 88 Sarus cranes (of which 76 were adults and 12 chicks), Dhanauri-sikandarabad forest range, home to degrading Dhanauri wetland , was the place where maximum Sarus cranes were spotted.
“The census was held by the department over one day on June 25. The numbers are almost the same as they were two years back. We are working towards conserving their key habitats, especially Dhanauri wetland which had been delayed due to the Covid situation. There is a huge potential of conservation of the Sarus,” said Pramod Kumar Srivastava, divisional forest officer, Gautam Budh Nagar.
While the experts see the ‘stability’ in the population as a silver line, they also reiterate importance of conserving wetlands, especially Dhanauri that sees dropping water levels and more non-breeding population or the birds looking actively for partners.
“The good thing is that the population of Sarus in the same ranges and at the same time seems almost stable. Sarus crane is a long living species that can live for many years in captivity and reproduces at a slower rate, with about one or two chicks a year. Besides, the mortality rate among chicks is very high. So, it’s not surprising that the number of Sarus in same areas and same period of year is almost the same,” said KS Gopi Sundar, scientist at the Nature Conservation Foundation and global co-chair, IUCN on stork, ibis and spoonbill specialist group. He, however, added that for an area like Dhanauri, the number seemed small.
“It is very important to conserve wetlands like Dhanauri where maximum non breeding pairs live. These are the juveniles which will be breeding soon and are actively looking for partners. The non-breeding population of Sarus is almost 50-60 percent of total numbers which means that the population is healthy but at the same time, we need more wetlands and safe environment for them to survive, roost, etc,” he added. The birders, however, don’t find the numbers to be impressive.
“This is perhaps not the right time for Sarus census and the forest department should count them around March to get the accurate picture. As far as I know, the numbers should be more,” said Noida-based birder Anand Arya, who was among those who found Dhanauri and initiated a legal battle in 2014 for its official recognition and conservation.
In April this year, the Dhanauri wetland, that spreads over 101 hectares, dried up with the forest department forced to fill the ponds up using bore wells.
On a decreasing population trend across the world, Sarus is listed as ‘vulnerable’ under the IUCN Red list, with human activities, habitat loss, predation by feral dogs, natural predators like mongoose and snakes and hunting among major threats.
The Sarus crane is a non-migratory bird species that is believed to live up to at least 20-25 years and grows up to six feet tall. There is an estimated population of about 8000 Sarus cranes in India, as of 2017, spreading across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, West Bengal and north-eastern states. Experts keep the numbers around 1,500 in low lying terai region of Nepal, Pakistan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand, while the bird has become extinct in Bangladesh.
Covered with light-grey body plumage and a greenish skin crown, Sarus cranes have red skin on the head and upper neck area. The species mostly live and breed in and around wetlands habitats as well as marshy areas, small lakes and cultivated land with the presence of water, like paddy fields.
According Anand Arya, Sarus are considered one of the best predictors of the monsoon, and breed around August, lay about two eggs and the chicks take flight by the third month of hatching.
It is widely believed that Sarus mate for life, in what the birders call a complex and strict pairing, where a male and female stick together and the pair only breaks in the rarest of rare case.