PHNOM PENH, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Fifty globally vulnerable Sarus Crane chicks hatched from 27 nests protected by conservationists and local communities in the Northern Plains of Cambodia in Preah Vihear province, a Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) statement said on Monday.
The Sarus Crane (Antigone antigone) is the tallest flying bird standing up to 1.65 meters tall. It is listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as vulnerable because its global population is rapidly declining due to widespread degradation and destruction of wetland habitats, human exploitation and the effects of pollutants and poisons.
This species lives only in Australia, Cambodia, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Vietnam, according to the WCS. Its global population numbers around 10,000, of which 500 individuals live in Cambodia.
Mao Khean, WCS's wildlife research project coordinator in the Northern Plains of Cambodia, said that with support and cooperation from local villagers, rangers and the research team, 27 nests of globally vulnerable Sarus Cranes were found in the Northern Plains this year.
"We hired 44 local villagers to protect these nests because they can be threatened by consumption by wild pigs or domestic dogs, egg collection by local people, and flooding. Ultimately, 26 nests were successful and one nest was flooded by rain. 50 new chicks hatched and left the nests," he said.
In recent years, there has been a worrying declining trend in the numbers of Sarus Cranes observed throughout Cambodia, the statement said, adding that the seasonally flooded grasslands of the Northern Plains, one of the few locations in Cambodia where the birds breed, are threatened by agricultural conversion to rice paddies.
"The Northern Plains is the Sarus Crane's most important breeding site in Cambodia. Success of the Sarus Crane nest protection in the Northern Plains over the past five years has significantly contributed to conserving the species in the country," said Song Chansocheat, deputy director of environment department in Preah Vihear province, adding that "Protecting the Northern Plains of Cambodia is needed to ensure continued breeding and the survival of the species in Cambodia."
