By IANS,
Islamabad : Sarus cranes, the world’s tallest flying bird, is back in Pakistan after more than a decade, wildlife experts have said.
A pair sighted in Nagarparkar in Sindh province this year has given hope to wildlife enthusiasts that the rare bird may become part of Pakistan’s landscape once again.
At a meeting held by Pakistan’s Save Wildlife and Nature (SWAN) group, wildlife experts and government officials formed a group for the conservation of sarus cranes, Dawn News reported.
The meeting discussed the present status of the cranes’ population, the threats they were facing and the measures needed to address those problems.
Currently, there are about 15 species of cranes in the world and, of them, four species visited Pakistan during the winter — in the end of September — and left in early March, officials said.
The Siberian crane has not been seen in Pakistan for many years and the population of demoiselle cranes and common cranes is also dwindling.
And though sarus cranes are still found in large numbers in India, not a single bird had been sighted in Pakistan till this year, they said.
“Khyber Pakhtunkhwa tops the list where these birds are hunted on a large-scale followed by Balochistan and Punjab,” said wildlife conservationist Ashiq Ahmed Khan.
He said Nagarparkar used to be the breeding ground of sarus cranes which they were forced to leave when a flock was shot down in 1999. Since then there had been no report of the birds’ sighting.
Groups comprising wildlife enthusiasts have been formed in Punjab and Balochistan for the cranes’ conservation, he added.
Efforts to protect the cranes’ breeding habitats in Pakistan would include identification of sites for each species, mobilisation of communities for the birds’ protection and cooperating with private companies operating in areas visited by the birds.
Though the number of sarus cranes visiting Pakistan has not been calculated, between 13,500 and 15,500 have been seen in India and a species of the Eastern Sarus Crane estimated at between 500 and 1,500 survives in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. A species called the Australian Sarus Crane is limited to northeastern Australia, and probably numbers less than 5,000.