page_title: Sarus crane
section_title: Conservation status
hierarchical_section_title: Sarus crane / Conservation status
caption_attribution_description: English: Sarus cranes (Grus antigone), Salai, UP, India
context_page_description: The sarus crane is a large non-migratory crane found in parts of the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Australia. The tallest of the flying birds, standing at a height up to 1.8 m, they are a conspicuous species of open wetlands in south Asia, seasonally flooded Dipterocarp forests in Southeast Asia, and Eucalyptus-dominated woodlands and grasslands in Australia.
  The sarus crane is easily distinguished from other cranes in the region by the overall grey colour and the contrasting red head and upper neck. They forage on marshes and shallow wetlands for roots, tubers, insects, crustaceans, and small vertebrate prey. Like other cranes, they form long-lasting pair bonds and maintain territories within which they perform territorial and courtship displays that include loud trumpeting, leaps, and dance-like movements. In India, they are considered symbols of marital fidelity, believed to mate for life and pine the loss of their mates even to the point of starving to death.
context_section_description: There were about an estimated 15–20,000 mature sarus cranes left in the wild in 2009. The Indian population is less than 10,000, but of the three subspecies, is the healthiest in terms of numbers. They are considered sacred and the birds are traditionally left unharmed, and in many areas they are unafraid of humans. They used to be found on occasion in Pakistan, but have not been seen there since the late 1980s. The population in India has however declined. Estimates of the global population suggest that the population in 2000 was at best about 10% and at the worst just 2.5% of the numbers that existed in 1850. Many farmers in India believe that these cranes damage standing crops, particularly rice, although studies show that direct feeding on rice grains resulted in losses amounting to less than one percent and trampling could account for grain loss of about 0.4–15 kilograms (0.88–33.07 lb). The attitude of farmers tends to be positive in spite of these damages, and this has helped in conserving the species within agricultural areas. The role of rice paddies and associated irrigation structures may be particularly important for the birds' conservation, since natural wetlands are increasingly threatened by human activity. The conversion of wetlands to farmland, and farmland to more urban uses are major causes for habitat loss and long-term population decline. Compensating farmers for crop losses has been suggested as a measure that may help, but needs to be implemented judiciously so as not to corrupt and remove existing local traditions of tolerance. Farmers in sarus crane wintering areas in Australia are beginning to use efficient methods to harvest crops, which may lead to lowered food availability. Farmers are also transitioning from field crops to perennial and tree crops that have higher returns. This may reduce available foraging habitat for cranes, and may increase conflict with farmers in the remaining, few crop fields.
  A review of literature and assessment of abundance of sarus cranes in Nepal suggests that past field methods were either inadequate or incomplete to properly estimate abundances, and that the population of cranes in Nepal may be on the increase. The Australian population is greater than 5,000 birds and may be increasing, however, the Southeast Asian population has been decimated by war and habitat change (such as intensive agriculture, deforestation, and draining of wetlands), and by the mid-20th century, had disappeared from large parts of its range which once stretched up to southern China. Some 1500–2000 birds are left in several fragmented subpopulations, though recent surveys in Myanmar have discovered previously-unknown breeding populations in several locations.
  Payment to locals to guard nests and help increase breeding success has been attempted in northern Cambodia. Nest success of protected nests was significantly higher than that of unprotected nests, and positive population-level impacts were apparent. However, the program also caused local jealousies leading to deliberate disturbance of nests, and did nothing to alleviate larger-scale and more permanent threats due to habitat losses leading to the conclusion that such payment-for-conservation programs are at best a short-term complement, and not a substitute, to more permanent interventions that include habitat preservation. The little-known Philippine population became extinct in the late- 1960s.
  The sarus crane is classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Threats include habitat destruction and/or degradation, hunting and collecting, as well as environmental pollution and possibly diseases or competing species. The effects of inbreeding in the Australian population, once thought to be a significant threat due to hybridization with brolgas producing hybrid birds called "sarolgas", is now confirmed to be minimal suggesting that it is not a major threat. New plans for developing the floodplain areas of northern Queensland may have detrimental impacts on breeding sarus crane populations, and require to incorporate the needs of cra
caption: Two adults with a subadult in the middle
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