BURIRAM, Aug 6 (TNA) – Wetland and Eastern Sarus Crane
Conservation center is officially opened in northeastern province of Buriram,
after a successful reintroduction program to revive the birds that became
extinct in the wild for 50 years.
The country had lost Eastern Sarus Crane since the 1960’s
until the Zoological Park Organization, under cooperation with the United
Nations Development Program, among others, reintroduced dozens Eastern Sarus
cranes into three wetland complexes in Buriram in 2011.
In 2016, the first baby crane hatched naturally in the wild
for the first time, giving hope to local communities and wildlife
conservationists. So far, at least 15
baby cranes have survived after hatching in the wild.
The new Conservation Center in Mueang District has been
established to embrace the return of Eastern Sarus cranes and to draw community
participation in the wildlife conservation under the slogan “People and
wildlife can live together” according to the Zoological Park Organization.
During the opening on Monday, officials released 10 more
cranes in to the wild.
Previously, 105 Eastern Sarus cranes had been released, 71
of them survived.
The fuzzy-headed crane is one of the tallest flying birds in
the world. It was once believed that the
new generation would only know about the creatures from the older generations.
Apart from conservation works, organic farming also
contributed to the revival of the cranes as farmers have stopped using
pesticides and noisy tractors to help the birds to survive.(TNA)
