Cranes make a comeback
Joy Webber
Blue crane populations are making a comeback. So are the other crane species. During much of the 1980s and 1990s the population of South Africa’s national bird the blue crane fell by almost 80%. But now numbers are on the increase, despite the fact that these birds are still flying into power lines, being poisoned, shot at and having their nests robbed by people who want to raise the youngsters and keep them as pets.
The turn-around is in no small part due to the South African Crane Working Group (SACWG).
“Blue crane populations are exploding in KwaZulu-Natal and we’ve seen an increase of 28% in Mpumalanga,” says Kerryn Morrison, SACWG’s national networking coordinator.
SACWG’s roots can be traced back to the early 1980s when concerned bird lovers decided to do something to prevent the march to extinction of this country’s three crane species.
Crane groups were formed in different provinces at the instigation of the South African Crane Foundation, the forerunner of SACWG. Each group busied itself with looking after the birds and taking care of programmes in its own area.
“In 1995 it was realised that coordination and more communication between the provinces was needed and that this should take place under some sort of umbrella body,” says Morrison. “As a result SACWG was established as part of the Endangered Wildlife Trust.”
Twenty-nine-year-old Morrison, who has a master’s degree in zoology and botany, admits that this is not merely a job but a way of life.
For six years Morrison worked as a field officer in Dullstroom, Mpumalanga, where she came across a fair share of stubborn farmers not interested in conservation. “There were many prepared to listen to suggestions on how to protect and conserve crane habitat,” she says, “but there were also some who dismissed the whole thing and refused to budge.” But perseverance has paid off.
However, it is not just farming and habitat destruction that threaten cranes. Every year many of the birds fly into power lines that criss-cross their areas. SACWG took up the issue with Eskom. In partnership with the Endangered Wildlife Trust, Eskom is now putting flags along the power lines to make them visible to the birds.
But the battle is far from won. Although crane population numbers are increasing in many areas, the animals are still in a fragile position. According to the South African Red Data Book, both blue cranes and the grey crowned crane are still considered “vulnerable”, while the wattled crane is “critically endangered”.
“We place a lot of emphasis on habitat preservation,” says Morrison. “Human encroachment has a major impact on wetlands and grasslands in which the birds live and breed. We have established conservation projects in all 10 crane regions of South Africa and have volunteers active in other areas where cranes are sporadically found.”
The working group places heavy emphasis on education. “Since 99% of cranes occur on private farm land, it is obvious landowners are the key players in efforts to conserve the birds,” says Morrison. “We have run extensive awareness and education programmes, and many farmers have agreed to become ‘crane custodians’. Our field officers make frequent visits to the custodians and arrange workshops for farm workers that highlight farming activities that both benefit and threaten cranes.”
Community-based programmes, such as the Steenkampsberg plateau catchment management programme near Dullstroom, have also been established.
Research forms an important component of SACWG’s work and there have been significant advances in the blue crane behaviour as a result of the use of hi-tech satellite telemetry. Ten of the birds were fitted with satellite transmitters and tracked from 1996 to 1999. This allowed detailed analysis of their movements between their breeding and wintering areas.
“It gave us information that has allowed our conservation efforts to become much more effective,” says Morrison. “Crane ringing has also been implemented and colour-ringed re-sightings will assist SACWG in determining the movement patterns of cranes.”
But it is the future of the wattled crane that worries SACWG most of all. “The animal is critically endangered,” says Morrison, “and dramatic management measures need to be implemented if it is to survive.” Southside Media
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Judges’ comments: “It combines species salvation with a variety of other programmes. It has very good relations with other NGOs and educational groups, for instance.
“It is making a big difference in the field and is highly visible, both nationally and internationally.”