Sarus Crane - in Culture

In Culture

The species is venerated in India and legend has it that the poet Valmiki cursed a hunter for killing a Sarus Crane and was then inspired to write the epic Ramayana. The species was a close contender to the Indian Peafowl as the national bird of India. Among the Gondi people, the tribes classified as "five-god worshippers" consider the Sarus Crane as sacred. The meat of the Sarus was considered taboo in ancient Hindu scriptures. It is widely believed that the Sarus pairs for life and that death of one partner leads to the other pining to death. They are a symbol of marital virtue and in parts of Gujarat, it is a custom to take a newly wed couple to see a pair of Sarus Cranes. Being ubiquitous in the flood plains of the Ganges, observations on their biology had been made by the Mughal emperor, Jahangir around AD 1607. He noted, for instance, that the species always laid two eggs with an interval of 48 hours between them and that the incubation period was 34 days.

Although venerated and protected by Indians, these birds were hunted during the colonial period. It was noted that killing a bird would lead to its surviving partner trumpeting for many days and it was traditionally believed that the other would starve to death. Even sport hunting guides discouraged shooting these birds. According to 19th century British zoologist Thomas C. Jerdon, young birds were good to eat, while older ones were "worthless for the table". Eggs of the Sarus Crane are however used in folk remedies in some parts of India.

Young birds were often captured and kept in menageries both in India and in Europe in former times. They were also successfully bred in captivity early in the 17th century by Emperor Jehangir and in Europe and the United States in the early 1930s.

... The young birds are easily reared by hand, and become very tame and attached to the person who feeds them, following him like a dog. They are very amusing birds, going through the most grotesque dances and antics, and are well worth keeping in captivity. One which I kept, when bread and milk was given to him, would take the bread out of the milk, and wash it in his pan of water before eating it. This bird, which was taken out of the King's palace at Lucknow, was very fierce towards strangers and dogs, especially if they were afraid of him. He was very noisy—the only bad habit he possessed. —Irby, 1861

An Indian 14-seater propeller aircraft, the Saras, is named after this crane.