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Sightings

2004

THE STORY OF HOW BASHKIRIA SAVED MOSCOW

By Tatiana Kashentseva, and Valentin Kozlitin

On 23 November, 2004 we received a message from our colleagues from Nizhny Novgorod that a banded injured crane was found in Bashkiriya. The number on the band indicated that it was a year-old Siberian Crane named “Moscow” raised at Oka Crane Breeding Center (OCBC).

On 20 August 2004, “Moscow,” together with nine other Siberian Cranes from OCBC, was released into the wild on the territory of Belozersky Refuge (Zakaznik) in the south of Tyumen Region. Three young birds (Aldan, Moscow, and Voronezh) and seven chicks (Alazeya, Vyaz’ma, Klyaz’ma, Shuya, Mezen’, Oshta, and Pasha) were named after the Russian rivers. Except for Aldan, reared in isolation, all the birds were reared by parents.

After the release the young Siberian Cranes had to adjust to local environment. For two weeks they were staying together in one flock at the release site, on the Omelina Island in the Beloye Lake, until being disturbed and scared away. After that the flock divided into two groups, each consisting of both chicks and young birds. Four crane chicks, who knew each other by sight, tried to stay close to Moscow and Aldan, who have been demonstrating mutual affection since their time in the Breeding Center. The second group included Voronezh and three chicks, who lived in pens next to each other for two weeks at OCBC.

The reserve staff, who monotored the birds for a month, had left OCBC in the middle of September, before the migration had begun. It is possible that the Siberian Cranes left the Belozersky Wildlife Refuge together with Eurasian Cranes, and, judging by the finding of the injured crane, were moving in the right direction. The distance from the release site to the place where “Moscow” had been found is about 700 km.

Moscow was lucky; the hunter missed the bird and only one small shot hit the head. Though no life-threatening damage had occurred, the bird lost an eye and lots of blood. The bird’s survival instinct led it to people. On 13 November, a woman (Agrafena Kuzich) from Tepliy Klyuch village in north-eastern Bashkiriya, allowed the wounded crane to feed together with her poultry. Through her relatives she informed the state inspector of the Kiginsk Rayon (District), Flarid Latypov, about the injured crane. The inspector immediately came to the village. The bird was caught, cleaned from mud and clotted blood, fed and given to the Head of the Salavat State Inspection, Il’dar Yakupov, who immediately took the bird to Ufa (capital of Bashkiriya). Here Lyudmila Yedrenkina, an employee of Rosprirodnadzor (=DNR) of Bashkiria, took care of the Siberian Crane’s future. She found a safe place where the crane could receive help – the Science Museum of the University of Bashkiria – and informed the Nizhegorodskiy Department of the Russian Bird Conservation Union.about the crane

Moscow spent a month in an outdoor pen of university’s vivarium, which served as an animal shelter to a black kite, a raven, a heron and other birds with gun wounds, thanks to patronage of the University Museum Director, Victor Valuyev. The museum staff made every effort to recover the bird: made the pen comfortable, provided good nutrition and protected from disturbances.

The information on the rescued Siberian Crane reached Crane Working Group of Eurasia and OCBC. OCBC staff, with the financial support of the International Crane Foundation, was able to fly to Ufa to collect Moscow and bring it back to the breeding center. During their visit to Bashkiria they met with staff of Bashkiria Rosprirodnadzor and the museum, with teachers and students of the University of Bashkiria, and talked to mass media representatives about the Siberian Crane and the importance of its conservation. During these conversations it was found that Moscow wasn’t alone when it reached Bashkiria. There was another Siberian Crane, most likely Aldan, because they kept together at the breeding center and at the release site at Belozersky. On 21 November, a week after Moscow was found, Alfira Altapova from the village of Verkhniye Kigi saw that other crane flying.

Moscow has returned to OCBC and had to spend a month in quarantine and undergo preventive treatment. Moscow is the third offspring of the young pair of Siberian Cranes at OCBC. The first two were males: one lives now at the Cracid & Crane Breeding and Conservation Center for Birds and Cranes in Belgium; another was released in 2003 into the wild at Kunovat Wildlife Refuge in the north of the Yamalo-Nenetskiy Autonomous District.

For more information:

Tatiana Kashentseva

Oka Crane Breeding Center of the Oka State Biosphere Nature Reserve

Valentin Kozlitin

Oka Crane Breeding Center, Moscow Zoo

2003

By Nikolai Germogenov

On the morning of 16 November 2003 Mr. Ji. Weitao’s reported an observation with a pair of Siberian Cranes with a chick. Both adult birds were banded with color plastic rings. The cranes were sighted in Dahu Chi on Poyang Lake in the basin of the Yang-Tze River, southeastern China, on the wintering grounds of the eastern population. According to observers, one of the adult cranes had a green ring on its left leg, and the other had a white ring on its right leg.

According to our data, both Siberian cranes were banded on the nesting grounds of the eastern population at the north of Yakutia during the joint Russian-Japanese-American expedition.

On analyzing the data on banding, Nikolay Germogenov of the Institute of Biological Problems of Cryolitozone, Yakutia, came to the conclusion, that there are two possible answers to the question: ”Which of the cranes banded in Yakutia were encountered on Poyang Lake?”

Most probably, it was the pair, in which both adult birds were banded on 23 July 1996 with white and green rings without numbers as well as other color rings and standard aluminum rings. One of the cranes was banded with a green ring on its left leg and a standard ring À234055 as well as a white ring placed below the standard one on his right leg. The other bird was banded with a white ring on its left leg and a standard ring À234050 as well as a blue plastic ring placed below the standard one on its right leg. In this case, one of the birds has rings on its right leg missing (or they were not noticed). As for the other bird, the position of the white ring was confused and the rings on the right leg were not noticed (or they are missing). This is the most probable version, if the birds were sighted from a long distance away.

It might be a new pair formed by one of the three adult birds banded with green rings (as well as other color and standard rings) in 1996 and one of the birds banded as a chick with white rings (although that was done on the left leg) in 1991.

There are no other likely variants. Anyway, the researcher did not notice other color and standard aluminum rings (or they are missing).

In our opinion, the first variant is more probable.

For more information:

Nikolai Germogenov

Institute of Biological Problems of Cryolitozone