Birdwatchers, farmers and forest staff across India are being asked to count the world’s tallest flying bird this weekend, in a survey meant to set a national baseline for a species that has been in decline.
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Two of Maharashtra’s tiger reserves have turned out to be among the best places in India to release captive-bred vultures, with survival rates reaching as high as 78 per cent — a result landing just as the government pushes states to open up more Vulture Safe Zones nationwide.
Forest officials in India’s Uttar Pradesh have confirmed a new nesting and breeding colony of Sarus Cranes in Etawah, around 300 km from Delhi.
More than a dozen nests, containing two chicks each of the Sarus, which is incidentally the state bird, have been sighted by forest department personnel, ornithologists and wildlife activists in the wetlands and paddy fields of Etawah and Mainpuri districts, the Times of India reports.
This has been the first sighting of nesting and breeding of the bird in Etawah and Mainpuri, Times of India reported, citing forest officials.
“The figure of the number of nests may increase. The counting process of nests is still on as the nesting and breeding season of World’s tallest bird is not yet over,” said divisional forest officer Kanhaiya Patel.