How UP’s Farmers Are Reviving the Population of the World’s Tallest Flying Bird |
It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the sarus cranes breeding in the wetlands of Pragpur village in Maharajganj district of Eastern Uttar Pradesh recognise farmer Rampreet’s melodies. For years, he’s protected the birds by keeping a close check on them, their nests, eggs, and chicks.
This mindset shift is commendable for Rampreet, who hails from a farming community that once viewed the sarus cranes as “pests” that caused a nuisance to their wheat and paddy.
But it’s not the bird’s fault. As wetlands have been widely drained or ‘reclaimed’ for agriculture and infrastructure, the birds have been pushed onto flooded croplands that mimic their natural habitat.
Over 95 percent of wetlands in Uttar Pradesh fall outside protected areas, and except for a handful, none of them have even been notified as wetlands under the Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017. But the sarus cranes are adept at seeking out home.
And how does Rampreet identify them?
The birds are unmistakable with their grey plumage, long pink legs, and red head and upper neck, a stark contrast against the bright green of the wetlands. They are said to be the world's tallest birds, reaching up to 152-156 cm in height.
Declared the state bird of Uttar Pradesh, and India’s only resident breeding crane, the bird’s declining population — the current population size is estimated at 15,000–20,000 mature individuals — set alarm bells ringing, compelling the Wildlife Trust of India to formulate a plan for the bird’s protection.
As Professor B C Choudhury, senior advisor at Wildlife Trust of India and principal investigator of the ‘Sarus Habitat Securement Project’, underscores in a documentary, Where the Sarus Sings, “If you declare a bird as a state bird, you need to do something for it. The fact that the sarus crane only lives outside........