News

South Africa’s national bird threatened by illegal trade

8 March 2010

The Blue Crane is classified as Vulnerable on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red Data List.

In the latter part of February 2010 alone, nine Blue Cranes were confiscated in four separate incidences of illegal removal from their Karoo habitat.

“œSadly, this is likely just the tip of the iceberg, “ says Kerryn Morrison, Manager of the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s African Crane Conservation Programme (EWT-ACCP).  “œPeople often don’t realise that one needs a permit to trade in and own cranes. It is illegal to take cranes out of the wild.”

Legally-owned Blue Crane pairs are often used as a front to move illegally-captured chicks.  A legal pair of Blue Cranes is kept, and crane chicks are then illegally removed from the wild and sold under the premise that the legal pair reproduced the chicks in question.

A demand for cranes is created by the perceived status inherent in keeping the birds in a private garden or at a shopping centre, which places pressure on wild populations.  Many unsuspecting people then become involved in illegal trade as they find birds quite readily available.

The Blue Crane or Anthropoides paradiseus, South Africa’s National Bird, is classified as Vulnerable on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red Data List.  Its charismatic stature, elaborate dances and the fact that it is easily recognisable are the reasons why this crane is sought-after for display in captivity.  Numbering around 25 000, a few vagrant birds are seen in neighbouring countries from time to time, and a sedentary population of around 35 birds is found in Namibia.

Following a severe decline in the 1980s and 1990s, the species’ population size appears to have stabilised, a credit in large part to the work undertaken by the EWT-ACCP and its partners, in particular the Overberg Crane Group, Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife and the KwaZulu-Natal Crane Foundation.  Over the last two decades, these organisations have worked closely with landowners in the major crane regions, helping them to find viable solutions to the crop damage that cranes sometimes cause, without killing or disturbing the birds.  Today, farmers use agrochemicals more responsibly than they did in the past and are far more tolerant of cranes living on their properties.  Furthermore, the work undertaken by the EWT’s Wildlife & Energy Programme to make powerlines more visible to large flying birds has seen a 60% reduction in bird/power line collisions in the last decade.

However, the removal of cranes from the wild for the illegal trade market is an increasing threat.

The EWT-ACCP undertook a Blue Crane population modelling exercise in 2009.  Analysis of the results suggests that the population remains on a knife edge and that an increase in mortality rates could once again swing the population into a steady decline.

The Endangered Wildlife Trust asks that anyone looking to keep cranes carefully considers their decision.   One needs to ensure that they are legally acquired so ask about the origin of the cranes to be bought and ask for parentage testing to ensure that the birds beign purchased are actually the chicks of the pair in question.  It is also vital that the relevant provincial permits are obtained.

The African Crane Conservation Programme’s important community and crane conservation work is supported by the World Wide Fund for Nature, the Anglo American Chairman’s Fund among other corporate donors, and the Johannesburg Zoo.

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