Sarus Cranes, crop fields and wetlands: What is happening to the Sarus in India?
by K. S. Gopi Sundar,
Senior Research Fellow, Wildlife
Institute of India,
P.B. 18, Chandrabani, Dehradun -
248001, Uttaranchal, India.
Gopi_Sundar@yahoo.com
Introduction and Status
The Indian Sarus Crane (Grus antigone antigone) is found in the states of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, and Maharashtra. However, while modest numbers can be found only in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh while much of the population is present in Uttar Pradesh. Recent evidence indicates that Mainpuri district has the highest population of the Sarus followed by Etawah district, and I estimate that 2,500 - 3,000 cranes live in just these two districts of Uttar Pradesh. Other Sarus-rich districts include Aligarh, Etah, Farrukhabad, Hardoi and Shahjahanpur.
The Sarus Crane recently joined other birds in the
Endangered list of Indian birds and it is estimated
that around 8,000 - 10,000 individuals exist
presently. The all-India Sarus Crane Count (1999 and
2000) managed by the Wildlife Institute of India shows
that over 90% of the population lives in unprotected
areas, mostly in crop fields and natural marshlands,
in that order. While habitat loss is evidently the
biggest pressure on crane populations, other
anthropogenic interventions like egg lifting are
impeding growth of the Sarus population. Adult
mortality is highest due to collisions and
electrocutions with high-tension power lines and
electricity supply wires. While the Sarus is
classified as a species of the marshlands, there is
enough evidence now to indicate that the habitat that
they are most found in are crop fields, principally
those with the annual cycle of summer paddy and winter
wheat. While experts have been dubious whether crop
fields are ideal habitats, no scientific enquiries
have been conducted to determine if indeed crop fields
are sub-optimal habitats for the Sarus Crane. I have
been working in a project initiated by the Wildlife
Institute of India, managed by Mr. B. C. Choudhury,
for the past two years in a field station established
in Etawah. The principal findings of the first year of
enquiry, which were presented in the Annual Research
Seminar (Oct 15-17 2001) at the Wildlife Institute of
India, are presented in this brief.
Methods used
Breeding pairs of Sarus Cranes maintain year-round territories which seldom, if ever, change in areas with a high concentration of Sarus, such as can be found in the districts of Etawah and Mainpuri. The study area is on the border of the two districts encompassing the towns of Etawah, Saiphai, Karhal, Saman, Sarsai Nawar, and Basrehar, and includes an area of approximately 500 sq. km. More than 200 breeding, territorial pairs were located having territories which either included the main roads or were adjacent to them. The study was restricted to these pairs and included the pairs breeding in the large marshlands of Kudaiyya, Sarsai Nawar, and Ambarpur. No pair was seen to defend a territory which comprised entirely of natural marshlands, but several pairs were seen to have territories which comprised entirely of crop fields. Pairs with at least 50% of their territories being natural marshlands were labelled 'wetland pairs' while those with less than that area of marshlands were labelled 'crop field pairs'.
