Why Uganda’s prestigious Creesed Crane faced extinction

The censed crane is loved in Uganda, with its specific golden crown, red neck bag and thin black legs – is characterized by the flag of the East African nation and the coat of weapons.

All the national sports teams of the country have been given a surname even after the prestigious bird, but in recent years it has gone into the fall and the protectionists say that if it is not done to save it, then it is faced with extinction. may have to.

The bird is preserved by the law – it determines a life sentence and/or 20bn Uganda Shilling ($ 5m; £ 4m), which was found to those who were found for those.

On returning for centuries, local Buganda cultural superstition also protected the elegant foul, which was seen as a symbol of wealth, good luck and longevity.

It was believed that if someone kills the crane, his kith and who come to the house of the killer, catch vigilance and collectively honor until the person goes mad or even dying Did not go.

“Such stories created fear, and the crane would be respected and revered and not killed,” Nature Uganda, a local non-governmental organization (NGO), a senior conservationist Jimmy Muhebwa, told the BBC.

But for farmers in Western Uganda, where the cranes mostly move out, this fear has spread and often it is only conservativeist who knows about the ban on killing them.

“I really see no value in these birds because whatever they do raid our plantation and eat our crops. We are worried about food security in this area,” The city of Marabara, Western, Tomal, a maize farmer from a village, told the BBC.

Another farmer near Mabrara, Fusita Aritua agreed, when she goes to the conspiracy of her maize, she spends the crane throughout the day – and if she could not reach there, then she is a guard to someone else She tries to stand up.

He told the BBC, “We did not take as much crop as we used to eat because these birds used to eat everything.”

Also known as a gray-crown crane, birds are mainly found in Uganda, but are also found in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

They are non-residents, but create local and seasonal movements based on food resources, availability of nest site and weather.

About 1 meter (3.2 ft), Jalpakshi mostly live in the wetland regions – riverbanks, dams and open meadows – where they breed and feed on grass seeds, small tods, frogs, insects and other wise.

But with the growing human population, the high demand for food is pushing farmers to cultivate in the wetlands, leaving the crestaded crane with less areas to call home.

“In East Africa, in the last 25 years, the population has fallen by more than 80%,” told by BBC, “Edlbert Aenomukonugji, who led the International Crane Foundation (ICF) in East Africa, told the BBC.

In the 1970s, Uganda claimed a population of more than 100,000 crestded cranes, but today the number has declined by only 10,000, according to Prakriti Uganda.

This decline noticed that the International Union placed a crested crane for the protection of nature (IUCN) In 2012 in its red list of endangered bird species,

Dan Sesruz, an ornithologist from Uganda, said, “Despite its peace, beauty and popularity, the bird is facing a serious threat. This means that if no necessary measures are taken to reverse this trend, So we can see that the crane has been pushed to extinct, “BBC.

Around Mbarra we found that birds were difficult to track – and only saw them after getting up early in the morning.

Protectionists say that they used to be very easy to find in the scenario around Mabra.

Dozens of cranes have been found dead in recent years after rice and maize farmers were poisoned in Lowngo district in South-Central Uganda.

Gilbert Tybwa, a conservation officer of ICF, told the BBC, “One of the biggest threats against the crane is toxicity by the farmers. The reason is that birds are causing a lot of harm to the crop.”

Mr. Tybwa said that he is entangled to use various preventive methods like scuka to protect farmers from the crane that invades his crops.

Farmers like Philip Natare from Leengo said that the crane was sometimes poisoned after eating crops sprayed with agro-chemical and other pesticides.

“I just chase them, because I grew up knowing that the crestaded crane is not to be killed. But the government should consider compensating farmers for crop loss,” he told the BBC.

However, John Makombbo, director of protection at the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), said this was not possible.

“This is one of the precious species that is freedom to go anywhere and is not therefore not responsible for any loss done by the government Crane,” he told the BBC.

ICF Protectionist, Sarah Kugonja said that cranes also face hosting other dangers – not only the farmers. Without the protective cover of the wetlands, their chickens are more likely to capture by the eagles.

Cranes are finding day by day that they are living in a rapidly hostile environment.

Ms. Kugonja told the BBC, “Sometimes the breeding areas are flooded and nowadays some cranes are killed by electric lines when flying.”

Their extraordinary beauty has also put him at risk because people are increasing him as pets, according to Shri Aenomukongoji.

But the censed crane, which can last for more than two decades, is rarely famous as a breed in captivity.

Mr. Muhebwa said, “This is a highly monoton bird because it is added once, for life. It means if one of them is killed or a pet, then the possibility of finding a new intercourse partner Almost zero, “Mr. Muhebwa said.

They attract a partner by dancing, bending and jumping – and are often seen walking as joints or families. A pair will define their own territory and may be very aggressive to defend it.

Is scientifically called Bellerica regulash giberisepsThe crane also has unique nesting -hunting patterns because they usually return to the same place annually, often laying between two and five eggs that occur anywhere between 28 to 31 days by both sexes.

Any destruction in these nests hunting areas affects these reproductive patterns.

Their monotony has also attracted unwanted attention to local traditional physicians, which claim that the parts of the censed crane may bring faith from a partner – or good fortune.

Mr. Tayabwa of ICF said, “Some people have been caught cranes to take parts of their body to choose parts of their body that they will become rich. Or, if you are a woman, then Your husband will never leave you. “

These are also trying to compete some conservationists – as well as warning people to protect the crane.

And in an attempt to reversed the decreasing number, the Uganda government and the conservationist groups are now rallied to communities to restore wetlands.

President Yovery Museweni, who comes from the western region, is urging the encroachers to vacate the wetland regions and according to local media, have announced 2025 years of wetland protection.

The ICF has also recruited to monitor Custodians and ensure that the reproductive base of the crane is protected.

Mr. Muhebwa of Nature Uganda said that these efforts were gradually helping to stabilize the situation but the crane number remained “very little”.

For Mr. Makombbo, the future emphasis of the UWA is going on setting an example when it comes to the law.

“We will arrest those people and sue those who are poisoning the crane,” he said.