Crested cranes: Uganda’s disappearing national bird

With its characteristic golden crown, red pouch and slim black legs, the Crane favorite in Uganda – pointing to the flag and coat of arms of the East African country.

All national sports teams of the country are also nicknamed after a landmark bird, but in recent years it has fallen into disrepair, and environmentalists say it may face extinction if it is no longer done to protect it.

The bird is protected by law – it provides a lifetime and/or fine of 20 billion Ugandan shillings ($ 5 million; £ 4 million) for those who died.

Returning for centuries, the local cultural prejudices of the Bugand also defended an elegant bird, which was regarded as a symbol of wealth, happiness and longevity.

It was believed that when one killed the crane, his whale and a relative would flock to the house of the killer, hold the vigil and mourning when a person was crazy and even died.

“Such stories have been instilled in fear, and the cranes will be respected and revered and not killed,” said Jimmy Mukhibva, senior conservationist Nature Uganda, a local non-governmental organization (NGO), BBC.

But for the farmers in Western Uganda, where the cranes are mostly hanging out, this fear dispersed, and often only environmentalists know about the ban on their murder.

“I really don’t see any value in these birds because everything they do is to recruit our plantations and eat our crops. We are experiencing food security in the field,” Tom Mukunguzuz, a corn farmer from the village near the city In the western region, the BBC said.

Another farmer near Mbarra, Fausite Aryta, agreed, saying when she goes to corn, she spends all day, chasing cranes – and when she can’t do it, she tries to make anyone else to guard.

“We no longer harvest as much as they used to do because these birds eat everything,” she said to the BBC.

Also known as gray-brown taps, birds are in Uganda, but are also located in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

They are not migration, but make local and seasonal movements depending on food resources, the availability of nests and weather.

Standing about 1 m (3.2 feet) in height, waterfowl mainly live in water -swallow sections – rivers, around dams and open meadows – where they multiply and feed on seeds, small frogs, frogs and other invertebrates .

But with the increase in the human population, the high demand for food pushes farmers to grow in wetlands, leaving crested cranes with reduced areas to call home.

“In East Africa, the population has decreased by more than 80%over the past 25 years,” said Adalbert Ainomucunguzi, headed by the crane international fund in East Africa, BBC.

In the 1970s, Uganda boasted more than 100,000 cranes, but today this number has fallen to only 10,000, according to Nature Uganda.

In this decline, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (MSC) put Crane Crane On its red list of endangered bird species in 2012.

“Despite its peace, beauty and popularity, the bird faces a serious threat. This means that if you have not taken urgent measures to change this trend, we could see how the cranes pushed to disappear,” said Dan Seroge, Ugandan ornithologist, said the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the The The Theats, Dan Seroge, Dan Seroge, Ugandan birdwatcher, Uganda BBC.

It was difficult for us to find the birds around the marriage – and saw them only early in the morning after dawn.

Environmentalists say they were much easier to find in the landscape that surrounds the overbearing.

Dozens of cranes have been found dead in recent years after they were poisoned by Rice farmers and corn in the Liveng area, in South Central Uganda.

“One of the biggest threats against cranes is the poisoning of farmers. This is because birds do great harvest damage,” said BBC Gilbert Taebva, ICF security officer.

Mr. Taebva said he attracts farmers to the use of various restraining methods such as stuffed ones to protect their cultures from the invasion of cranes.

Farmers such as Philip Ntare, from Lwang, said the cranes are sometimes mistaken after eating crops sprayed with agrochemists and other pesticides.

“I just pursue them because I grew up knowing that the deepened crane should not be killed. But the government should consider compensation to farmers for the damage to the crop,” he said BBC.

However, John Makombba, Director of the Wildlife Administration (UWA), said it was impossible.

“This is one of those valuable species that have freedom to go anywhere, and therefore, unfortunately, the government is not responsible for the damage made by the cranes,” he said the BBC.

Sarah Kuganza, the ICF environmentalist, said the cranes also face many other threats – not only from farmers. Without the protective cover of the wetlands, their chicks are most likely captured by the eagles.

Sluorous every day they find that they live in an increasingly hostile environment.

“Sometimes the plots are flooded, and nowadays some cranes are clogged with electrical lines when flying,” said Ms. Kugza BBC.

According to Mr. Ainomukunguz.

But closed taps that can live just over two decades, are unlikely if -they multiply in captivity, because birds are known to be faithful.

“This is a very monogamous bird when it combines once, for a living. It means that if one of them is killed or tamed, the likelihood of finding a new mating partner is almost equal to zero,” Muhibva said.

They attract a partner, dancing, bowing and jumping – and they often see couples or families. It’s time to determine your own territory and can be very aggressive to protect it.

Scientifically called Balearica manages GibbecepsThe cranes also have unique nesting patterns as they usually return to the same place annually, often put between two and five eggs, which are incubated by both cavies for 28 and 31 days.

Any destruction for these nesting areas affects these propagation models.

Their monogamy also attracted the unwanted attention of local traditional healers, who claim that parts of the conjugated faucet can bring allegiance to the partner – or good luck.

“Some people have been caught by hunting cranes to take some parts of their body to the witches, believing that they get rich. Either if you are a woman, your husband will never leave you,” Mr. Takebva said with ICF.

It is also what environmentalists are trying to resist – as well as warning people about the law that protects the cranes.

And, seeking to cancel the reduction of the number, the Uganda Government and the environmental groups now unite the communities to restore wetlands.

President Jobra Museveni, who comes from the western region, calls on the calls to release the wetlands and, according to local media, announced 2025 in the Year of Swamp.

ICF also recruited keepers to control and protection of tap breeding.

Muhibva Muhibva said Uganda said that these efforts slowly help to stabilize the situation, but the number of taps remained “very low”.

For r -Makombba, the UWA emphasis will be given by example when it comes to the law.

“We will arrest and pursue those who poison the cranes,” he said.