`Gujarat losing its sarus population'

`Gujarat losing its sarus population'
DHARMENDRASINH CHAVDA

AHMEDABAD, FEB 21: The sarus crane, the tallest flying bird in the world that was once found in large numbers in Gujarat, is fast disappearing from its favourite habitat, according to a recent study by the Gujarat Ecological Education and Research (GEER) Foundation.

From around 19,600 sarus cranes in 1984, their number has dropped to just about 1,700 in 1999; loss of habitat is the primary reason, says GEER Foundation director H.S. Singh.Of the total population of these magnificent birds that stand 160-165 cms tall and weigh 6.8 to 8 kgs, 84 per cent are found in the zone across Ahmedabad and Kheda districts. ``The stretch running from Vadodara to Sanand to Bagodara was once a wetland providing an idle habitat for the sarus. Now, this area is bustling with industrial and commercial units,'' Singh explains. The GEER Foundation study says:

``Industrial development not only encroaches upon the Sarus habitats as seen at Sanand-Viramgam highway and Sarkhej-Bagodara highway, but also causes deterioration ofits habitat through pollution.'' Also, the birds meet an untimely death by getting trapped in the criss-cross of power transmission lines. ``It's a heavy bird, and so flies low. That's why it often gets entangled in the wires. At least three such cranes were found trapped in electricity wires during our study,'' explains Singh.

Expansion of agricultural land is another reason for the loss of Sarus' habitat. Says a member of Prakriti, an Ahmedabad-based NGO that monitors the birds' nests in Ahmedabad district, ``More and more wetland is coming under cultivation. And agriculture being a source of income, the farmers aren't friendly to the sarus anymore.''