Fly High....

November 12, 1938.... Lord Lilinthgo aiming a bird with his gun, and without giving a second thought, pulled the trigger.And with it were spitting fire 39 guns across 29 sq. km area of Keoladeo, laying dead 4273 birds within a span of just 24 hours. Death beckoned in the santuary. But for the then viceroy of India, only numbers mattered. Knowingly or unknowingly, he drove them towards extinction. And the worst hit was Siberian Crane.

Being the native of Siberia, these 1.25 metre high cranes, with 2.25 metre wide wings, along with other 350 migratory bird,in winter, visit the keoladeo santuary of bharatpur, Rajasthan, India. It has being the winter residence the magnificient bird for centuries. But man has not let the bird live in peace, neither hundreds of others. Pursuing their hobby, British viceroy along with the local hunters, thoughtlessly hunt down the birds. Not far behind were the local state kings, to whom only concern was their pride. Even after independence, the fate of these birds was no different, with numbers dwindling each year. In year 1964, there were about 200 Siberian cranes seen at Bharatpur. The number reduced to 77 in 1972. Only 37 showed up in 1982, 17 in 1989 and only 2 in 2003,which was the last time their presence in India was recorded.

A female Siberian crane lay just two eggs every year, and only one is taken care of. This results in lower birth rate with respect to their death rate. Though their lifespan is as long as ours, their 6000 km long migration route is consists of multiple rest points, where they are most vulnerable. Since they have a long route, its very hard to keep their track. One such experiment of satellite tracking with other migratory crane confirmed the suspicion of the birds being intercepted by tribal hunters on the way to Ihdia. But due to non-cooperation by respective authorities, the conservation plans hav got stuck. Though Siberian cranes have two other migratory places, the one in china is in danger due to urbanization, while the one in Iran is at mercy of hunters. Recently they were spotted at grasslands of a place called Mathura, India. But no news since. Hope the spotting was correct and we get some gud news next time around. fingers crossed...!!!