Black-necked Crane

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News: Bombay Natural History Society has sterilized more than 2,950 free-ranging dogs in Ladakh, including its breeding site in Changthang Cold Desert Wildlife Sanctuary, to protect vulnerable, Black-necked Cranes.

About Black-necked Crane

Black-necked Crane
Source – DTE
AspectsDetails
About
  • The black-necked crane is a medium-sized crane in Asia that breeds on the Tibetan Plateau and remote parts of India and Bhutan.
  • The species is one of the most significant wetland birds of the Trans-Himalayan region.
  • Local Names: Locally, the bird is known as “cha thung-thung” in Ladakh and “thungdung karma” in Arunachal Pradesh.
Habitat and Distribution
  • It has an estimated world population of roughly 11,000-12,000 individuals, most of which occur on the Tibetan Plateau.
  • It is distributed across four range countries – India, Nepal, Bhutan, and China.
  • The high altitude wetlands of the Tibetan plateau, Sichuan (China), and eastern Ladakh (India) are the main breeding ground of the species.
  • It is also found in Arunachal Pradesh’s valleys – Sangti valley, Zemithang and Chug valley.
Characteristics
  • Appearance: It has a largely whitish-grey body contrasted by a jet-black head and upper neck, splashes of red around the eye, and long, elegant legs built for wading through alpine bogs.
  • It is nearly 1.4 m tall.
  • Both the sexes are almost of the same size, but male is slightly bigger than female.
Threats
  • Damage to the eggs and chicks, caused by feral dogs.
  • Increasing grazing pressure on the limited pastures near the wetlands.
  • Loss of habitat due to development projects on the wetlands.
Conservation status
  • IUCN Red List: Near Threatened (NT)
  • CITES: Appendix I
  • Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I
Conservation efforts
  • Notified Protected areas: The important habitats of Black-necked Crane have been notified as a Protected Areas.
    • Example – Changthang Sanctuary, Ladakh.
  • Designated Wetlands: The Tso Kar Wetlands Complex, an important foraging and breeding ground for Black-necked Crane has been designated as a Ramsar Site.
  • Financial assistance: The Central Government provides financial assistance to State/Union Territory Governments under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of ‘Development of Wildlife Habitats’.
Religious significance
  • The bird is revered by Monpas (a major Buddhist ethnic group of Arunachal Pradesh) as an embodiment of the sixth Dalai Lama.
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