Siberian Crane - Status and Conservation

Status and Conservation

The status of this crane is critical and the world population is estimated to be around 3200-4000, nearly all of them belonging to the eastern breeding population. Of the 15 crane species this is the most threatened. The western population has dwindled to 4 in 2002 and was thought to be extirpated but one 1 individual was seen in Iran in 2010. The wintering site at Poyang in China holds an estimated 98% of the population and is threatened by hydrological changes caused by the Three Gorges Dam and other water development projects.

Historic records from India suggest a wider winter distribution in the past including records from Gujarat, near New Delhi and even as far east as Bihar. In 1974 as many as 75 birds wintered in Bharatpur and this declined to a single pair in 1992 and the last bird was seen in 2002. In the 19th century, larger numbers of birds were noted to visit India. They were sought after by hunters and specimen collectors. An individual that escaped from a private menagerie was shot in the Outer Hebrides in 1891. The western population may even have wintered as far west as Egypt along the Nile.

Satellite telemetry was used to track the migration of a flock that wintered in Iran. They were noted to rest on the eastern end of the Volga delta. Satellite telemetry was also used to track the migration of the eastern population in the mid 1990s, leading to the discovery of new resting areas along the species' flyway in eastern Russia and China. The Siberian Crane is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies and is subject of the Memorandum of Understanding concerning Conservation Measures for the Siberian Crane concluded under the Bonn Convention.