The Cranes
Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan
Demoiselle Crane
(Anthropoides virgo)
Subjects:
Summary
Subspecies/populations
Population Numbers and Trends
Conservation Status
Historic and Present Distribution
Distribution by Country
Habitat and Ecology
Principal Threats
Current Conservation Measures
Priority Conservation Measures
Summary
The Demoiselle Crane is the second most abundant of the world’s cranes (only
the Sandhill Crane is more numerous). The total population is estimated at 200-240,000,
but reliable surveys of the species have been conducted in only limited portions
of its range. There are no known subspecies. Six main populations are distinguished
here. The three eastern populations—the Eastern Asia, Kazakhstan/Central Asia,
and Kalmykia—are abundant, numbering in the tens of thousands. The Black Sea population
consists of approximately 500 individuals. A disjunct resident population in the
Atlas Plateau of northern Africa is believed to include no more than 50 individuals.
A small breeding population exists in Turkey.
Historical records indicate that the species’ range has contracted substantially in western Eurasia and northern Africa, as well as in Kazakhstan and other areas further east. The species is classified Lower Risk (Least Concern) under the revised IUCN Red List Categories. However, the Atlas and Turkey populations are classified Critically Endangered, and the Black Sea and East Asia populations Endangered and Vulnerable respectively.
The species breeds in the Eurasian steppes from the Black Sea to northeastern China. The main wintering grounds are in India, Sudan, and other portions of eastern Africa to Chad. Demoiselle Cranes are primarily grassland birds, but are usually found within a few hundred meters of rivers, shallow lakes, depressions, or other natural wetlands. If water is available, they will inhabit even semi-deserts and true deserts. Their winter habitats in east-central Africa include acacia savannahs, grasslands, and riparian areas. In India, they feed in agricultural fields and stubble fields, and roost in shallow water or on sandbars and mudflats surrounded by water.
The future of the Demoiselle Crane is more secure than most crane species due to its large total population, broad range, abundant breeding habitat, adaptability, and high rate of breeding success (even in areas inhabited by people). However, the species faces a number of serious threats. Its breeding habitats in natural steppe areas are highly attractive for agricultural conversion (although it has adapted to agricultural fields under some circumstances). Its wintering grounds are subject to increased disturbance and agricultural development as a result of rising human populations. Other threats include collecting, indiscriminate hunting, and persecution as a result of the crop damage they can sometimes cause. These threats have brought about the species’ decline in the western part of its range, and have endangered local populations in other areas.
Conservation measures that have benefitted the Demoiselle Crane include: protection, either through cultural traditions or formal legal restrictions, in many range countries; establishment of numerous protected areas; extensive local surveys and studies of several key migration routes; development of a monitoring program for the threatened Black Sea population; exchange of information on the species in several international forums; and intensive crane education programs in India and Pakistan. No release or reintroduction programs are underway, but releases into areas from which the species has been extirpated (or where it exists in critically low numbers) have been considered.
Priority conservation measures for the species include: expanded conservation efforts focused on the Atlas, Turkey, and Black Sea populations and their habitats; expansion of key protected areas and establishment of new protected areas in important habitats; development and adoption of agricultural practices that can minimize the degree of interference between cranes and farmers; coordinated international surveys of the species; studies of the migration routes, resting areas, and wintering grounds of various populations; public education programs in the species’ breeding range and along its migration routes; and development of a more specialized education program involving hunters in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Subspecies/populations
No known subspecies. The species is broadly distributed and occurs in at least six main populations. The small resident population in northwest Africa may be taxonomically distinct.Population Numbers and Trends
| Population | Number | Trend | Source |
| Atlas (northern Africa) | <50 | Declining | Brahim in press, Newton in press b |
| Black Sea | approx. 500 | Declining | J. van der Ven pers. comm., Y. Andryushchenko pers. comm. |
| Turkey | <100 | Unknown | Kasparek 1988 |
| Kalmykia | 30-35,000 | Stable | Kovshar et al. 1995, V. Flint pers. comm., S. Newton pers. comm. |
| Kazakhstan/Central Asia | 100,000 | Stable to increasing | Kovshar et al. 1995 |
| Eastern Asia | 70-100,000 | Stable to declining | Fujita et al. 1994, Kovshar et al. 1995, Bold et al. 1995, J. Harris pers. comm. |
| Total | 200-240,000 | Stable | |
Conservation Status
| Species | |
| IUCN category | Lower Risk (least concern) |
| CITES | Appendix II |
| Populations | |
| Atlas | Critically Endangered, under criteria A1a,c,d A2c,d C1 C2b D |
| Black Sea | Endangered, under criteria A1c C2a |
| Turkey | Critically Endangered, under criteria A1a,c,d A2c,d C2b D |
| Kalmykia | Lower Risk (Least Concern) |
| Kazakhstan/Central Asia | Lower Risk (Least Concern) |
| Eastern Asia | Vulnerable, under criterion A1c |
Historic and Present Distribution
Historical records indicate that the species’ breeding range has contracted substantially in western Eurasia and in some portions of central and eastern Asia (Sudilovskaya 1963, Kovshar 1987, Winter et al. 1995). The species originally bred throughout the southern Eurasian steppes, from Mongolia in the east to the Dobrudzha region of Romania and Bulgaria in the west, with known outlier breeding populations in the Atlas Plateau of northwest Africa and in eastern Turkey. The species was recorded in Spain through the 1800s, but information on its occurrence is scarce and unreliable (J. A. Alonso pers. comm.). The species last bred in Tunisia and Algeria in the early part of the 20th century (Johnsgard 1983). It was extirpated as a breeding bird in Dobrudzha in the 1920s, and now occurs in the Balkan Peninsula only irregularly during migration (Flint 1987, Kovshar 1987, T. Michev pers. comm.). Since the 1950s the Black Sea population in Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine has declined substantially (Winter et al. 1995). Little is known about historic changes in the small breeding populations of Turkey and North Africa (Kasparek 1988, Eames 1989, Newton in press a).
Although still abundant in many areas, the species has declined (in some cases rapidly) in Central Asia, and other parts of its range over the last several decades. These populations seem to have stabilized, and may now be increasing, in areas where human density is low and agricultural conversion of their steppe habitats is limited, as in portions of Kazakhstan (Kovshar 1987). The eastern steppes, especially in central Mongolia, are the species’ stronghold. However, even the large eastern populations are now vulnerable as their steppe habitats are developed and as human pressures mount in their wintering areas. The wintering populations in eastern Nepal have declined over the last 15 years as a result of direct persecution (R. Suwal pers. comm).
The species is broadly dispersed during the breeding season. Six populations have been identified.
- Atlas population
This population probably numbers no more than 50. Recent estimates suggest that it contains only 10-12 individuals, and may no longer be breeding (Brahim in press, Newton in press a). The breeding grounds are in the Middle Atlas Mountains in Morocco. The wintering grounds have not been definitively established, but are likely along the Niger River (J. van der Ven pers. comm.) or possibly in the vicinity of Lake Chad (Scholte in press).
- Black Sea population
This population numbers approximately 500 (J. van der Ven pers. comm., Y. Andryushchenko pers. comm.). The breeding grounds are mainly in the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea and other portions of southeastern Ukraine (Grinchenko 1988b, Winter et al. 1995). The population migrates across and around the Black Sea through Turkey, Cyprus, and Egypt to wintering grounds in Ethiopia and Sudan. This population has declined steadily since the 1950s. It no longer occurs as a breeding bird in Romania, Moldova, or Bulgaria, nor as a wintering bird in Egypt (Atta 1995, T. Michev pers. comm.).
- Turkey population
This population is poorly studied. It is believed to include fewer than 100 individuals (Kasparek 1988). These birds breed in Eastern Anatolia in Turkey and probably migrate with the Black Sea and Kalmykia birds to Sudan and other areas of East Africa. This population and the Black Sea population are separated by the Caucasus Mountains. In the past, both were probably part of a single contiguous population, now interrupted by local extirpations, that surrounded the Black Sea (J. van der Ven pers. comm).
- Kalmykia population
This population numbers 30,000-35,000 and is considered stable. The breeding grounds are located between the Black and Caspian Seas. The population migrates through Georgia, eastern Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and the Middle East to wintering grounds in Sudan, Ethiopia, and other areas of east Africa (Newton in press b).
- Kazakhstan/Central Asia population
This population is estimated at 100,000. The breeding grounds are east of the Caspian Sea throughout Kazakhstan. The population migrates through Afghanistan and Pakistan to wintering grounds in the western portions of the Indian subcontinent. The Indian state of Gujarat is the core wintering area. The states of Maharashtra and Karnataka are also important wintering areas, while Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh are critical during severe droughts (Perennou and Mundkur 1991). The degree of concentration in wintering flocks also varies in response to monsoon patterns (Perennou and Mundkur 1991). This population declined sharply in the 1950s and 1960s, but stabilized and eventually began to increase in the 1980s (Kovshar et al. 1995).
- Eastern Asia population
No complete survey of this population has been undertaken. Estimates derived from partial surveys suggest a total of 70-100,000 (Fujita et al. 1994, Kovshar et al. 1995, Bold et al. 1995, J. Harris pers. comm., G. Archibald pers. obs.). The breeding grounds are in Mongolia, northern China, and southeastern Russia (Bankovics 1987, Ma 1991). The population migrates across China and through the Himalayan range (Martens 1971). Some of the birds winter in southern China, Nepal, and other portions of the eastern Indian subcontinent, but most join the birds from the Kazakhstan/Central Asia population in the wintering areas of western India. The population is thought to be generally stable, but may be declining in some localities.
Distribution by Country
| Afghanistan | M |
| Algeria | X(b) |
| Bangladesh | W (irregular) |
| Bhutan | M |
| Bulgaria | M (irregular), X(b) |
| Camaroon | V |
| Chad | W |
| China | B, W |
| cyprus | M |
| Egypt | M, X(w) |
| Eritrea | M |
| Ethiopia | W |
| Georgia | B |
| Hungary | M (irregular) |
| India | M, W |
| Israel | M |
| Iran | W (rare) |
| Iraq | M, X(b)? |
| Japan | V |
| Jordan | M |
| Kazakhstan | B |
| Kirghizia | B |
| Lebanon | M |
| Libya | M (irregular) |
| Mali | W? |
| Moldova | M (irregular), X(b) |
| Mongolia | B |
| Morocco | B |
| Myanmar | W (rare) |
| Nepal | M, W |
| Nigeria | W (rare) |
| Oman | W |
| Pakistan | M, W |
| Romania | M (irregular), X(b) |
| Russia | B, M |
| Saudi Arabia | M, W (rare) |
| Spain | X(b) |
| Sudan | W |
| Syria | M |
| Tadzhikistan | B |
| Tunisia | X(b) |
| Turkey | B, M |
| Turkmenistan | B |
| Ukraine | B |
| United Arab Emirates | W (rare) |
| Uzbekistan | B |
| Yemen | W? |
| B = Present during breeding season | |
| M = Present during migration | |
| W = Present during winter | |
| V = Vagrant | |
| X = Extirpated: (b) as a breeding
species; (m) as a migrant; (w) as a wintering species; (r) as a permanent resident |
|
| ? = Unconfirmed | |
Habitat and Ecology
Demoiselle Cranes are primarily birds of dry grasslands (savannahs, steppes, and semi-deserts). They do, however, utilize agricultural fields and wetter steppe areas, and are normally found within a few hundred meters of stream and rivers, shallow lakes, depressions, and other natural wetlands (Winter 1991, Yang and Tong 1991, Fujita et al. 1994). The breeding sites of the Turkey population are found in wetlands along rivers and creeks (Kasparek 1988). The density of breeding birds and size of breeding territories can vary widely from year to year in response to precipitation levels. Where water is available, they will inhabit semi-desert areas and even true deserts, alkali flats, and other vegetation-poor lands. They have been found nesting as high as 3000 m above sea level in mountain valleys and steppes of Kirghizia (Kydyraliev 1995).
In nesting areas, Demoiselle Cranes prefer patchy vegetation (e.g., Artemesia spp., Stipa spp., Festuca spp.) of sufficient height to conceal them and their nests, but short enough to allow them to look out while incubating. Nest sites near the tops of slopes are especially valued. In recent years, as extensive areas of their steppe habitats have been converted to cropland, Demoiselle Cranes have begun to adapt to agricultural fields. This trend has been observed in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and other steppe regions (Baranov 1982, Kovshar 1987, Kovshar et al. 1995, Winter et al. 1995). In Ukraine, the Black Sea population may now preferentially select agricultural fields for breeding sites. Their success in these regions, however, depends upon the extent, type, and timing of local farming practices (Winter et al. 1995, Y. Andryushchenko pers. comm.).
Nests are found on small open patches of grass, cultivated ground, or gravel, and show minimal preparation. Small pebbles and some thin bedding may be gathered together, but eggs are often laid directly on the ground. Usually two eggs are laid. The incubation period is 27-29 days, and the fledging period of 55-65 days is the shortest of any crane (Johnsgard 1983, S. Swengel pers. comm.).
Demoiselle Crane families are mobile soon after the chicks hatch. Their diet consists primarily of plant materials, insects, and other small animal foods. During the growing season and along migration routes, they will feed as well on cereal grains, peanuts, beans, and other crops. During the prefledging period, adults and chicks can cover considerable distances in their search for insects and other food items. In dry years, they may become essentially nomadic. After the chicks fledge in mid-summer, the cranes gather in flocks and move to agricultural fields, where grains and other gleanings are abundant.
Migration begins in late summer. The various populations encounter diverse terrain, from sea level to Himalayan mountain passes, during migration. Several populations undertake significant sea crossings (the Red Sea and the eastern Mediterranean). By early autumn most Demoiselle Cranes have arrived on their wintering grounds. Birds from the Black Sea and Kalmykia populations winter primarily in cultivated fields as well as acacia savannahs, grasslands, and riparian areas in Sudan and other parts of northeastern Africa (Hogg et al. 1984). The wintering birds in India forage in agricultural fields, stubble fields, and riverbeds, and roost in shallow water or on sandbars and mudflats surrounded by water (Gole 1993a).
Principal Threats
Habitat loss and degradation are the main current threats to the Demoiselle Crane. The breeding grounds in the Eurasian steppes—especially those with nearby water sources—are highly attractive for agricultural development, resulting not only in conversion of habitat but increased pressures from grazing, disturbance, poaching, and other human activities. The Black Sea population has declined due to conversion of the steppes, the use of pesticides, and the intensification of agricultural methods (Winter et al. 1995). At the opposite end of the species’ range, in Mongolia, conversion of the steppes has been less extreme, but has begun to have similar impacts on breeding populations (Bold et al. 1995). Although the relationship between farmers and Demoiselle Cranes in many breeding areas of Kazakhstan and Ukraine has improved, changes in agricultural practices (such as spring plowing and increasing use of pesticides) continue to have negative impacts on nesting and feeding behavior.
Many migratory habitats have been lost or altered in recent decades, primarily through the building of dams and the drainage of wetlands (Jan and Ahmad 1995, T. Michev pers. comm.). The wintering grounds in India and Sudan are subject to increasing disturbance as a result of rising human populations. The breeding population in Morocco is threatened by grazing, mining, and disturbance from other human activities (Brahim in press). Pesticides pose a problem in some areas, especially India and Morocco.
Because Demoiselle Cranes can (with adequate protection and the adoption of appropriate farming practices) reproduce successfully in agricultural fields, its demise in the western portion of its historic range likely involved indiscriminate hunting, egg collecting, and other forms of human disturbance. At present, Demoiselle Cranes are hunted most extensively—primarily for sport, but occasionally for food—in Pakistan and Afghanistan (Ferguson 1993, Jan and Ahmad 1995, Landfried et al. 1995). Following traditional hunting practices, the crane hunters in Pakistan station themselves in valleys where the cranes pass on migration and use tame cranes to lure wild birds within range of rock-weighted slings (known as soya). Hunters hurl the soya into the air to entangle the flying cranes. In recent years, increasing numbers of hunters have taken up this traditional practice, while firearms have also been used with greater frequency. The Eurasian Crane and the critically endangered central population of the Siberian Crane are also affected by this practice (Roberts and Landfried 1987; see the Siberian Crane account in this volume). As many as 5000 cranes of all three species (10-15% of the total population of migrating cranes) have been shot or captured in Pakistan in a single season, and the popularity of the sport continues to grow (Ahmad and Shah 1991, Jan and Ahmad 1995).
In areas where they gather in large numbers, Demoiselle Cranes can cause significant crop damage. This is particularly a problem at premigration staging areas in Kazakhstan, during migration through Nepal, and on wintering grounds in Sudan and India. The Demoiselle Cranes stopping in Nepal in the autumn can inflict serious damage to ripened millet and other crops on the small terraced fields that are found where farmland is scarce (R. Suwal pers. comm). In most such problem areas, farmers attempt to drive the cranes off, but do not directly persecute them. In some areas, however, cranes are shot or poisoned (Khachar et al. 1991).
Current Conservation Measures
Legal and Cultural Protection
Demoiselle Cranes are protected by cultural tradition in many portions of its range. In many Islamic areas, they are held in high regard (in part because the Koran mentions Demoiselle Cranes) (Newton in press a). In Mongolia and parts of India they are considered auspicious birds and are protected by local people (Harris 1991b, Gole 1993a).
Formal legal protection is provided in most range countries, including China, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine. Beginning in 1984, regulations pertaining to the hunting of cranes were adopted in Pakistan (Jan and Ahmad 1995, Landfried et al. 1995). In 1994, China requested that the government of Nepal restrict the hunting of Demoiselle Cranes in order to assure that the populations in China remain abundant (R. Suwal pers. comm.).
International Agreements and Cooperation
International conservation measures involving the Demoiselle Crane have usually been undertaken in conjunction with activities to benefit other crane species. Current efforts to create an international protected area in the China-Mongolia-Russia border area, for example, are especially important for the White-naped Crane, but also provide important benefits for Demoiselle Cranes due to the predominance of steppe vegetation in the region (Harris 1991b). Similarly, the international campaign to protect the Central population of the Siberian Crane necessarily entails measures that protect the Demoiselle and Eurasian Cranes that share its migration route (Jan and Ahmad 1995, Landfried et al. 1995). Conservationists from Saudi Arabia and five countries in North Africa have identified the priority needs of the Atlas population and the wintering populations in Africa (Newton in press a). Information about Demoiselle Cranes has been exchanged at the international crane conferences convened in India (1983), China (1987), Kazakhstan (1988), Estonia (1989), and Botswana (1993).
Protected Areas
Most Demoiselle Cranes are found outside of protected area, but do use many areas throughout their summer and winter range. Within the breeding range, Demoiselle Cranes are found in the Zhalong, Momoge, Xianghai, Keerqin, and Dalainor Nature Reserves in China; Toreiski and Kara-Chingliski Nature Reserves in Russia; the Daurski Reserve in Mongolia; and Kurgaldzhin Nature Reserve in Kazakhstan (Smirenski 1985; Tong 1986; Harris 1986, 1991b, 1992a; Ma and Li 1994). In Pakistan, the Lakki Crane Reserve near the Kuram River is used as a resting area during migration (wild cranes are lured to the area by some 100 captive cranes that are held within a large fenced enclosure). In recent years, only one Demoiselle pair from the Black Sea population has bred within a protected area, at Azov-Sivash National Park in Ukraine (Y. Andryushchenko pers. comm.). In Nepal, the Annapurna Conservation Area Project protects the main flyway of the Demoiselle Crane through the Himalayan massif (R. Suwal pers. comm.).
Habitat Protection and Management
Because most Demoiselle Cranes are found outside of protected areas, the development of habitat protection and management programs are of special importance for the species. In most cases, such programs involve the coordination of agricultural production and crane conservation practices. Thus far, this work has focused on analyzing the factors affecting Demoiselle Cranes in agricultural settings, and identifying methods to reduce negative impacts. Research on the situation has been undertaken mainly in breeding areas in Kazakhstan and Ukraine (Winter et al. 1995, Y. Andryushchenko pers. comm.).
Surveys/Censuses/Monitoring
Although no systematic survey of the Demoiselle Crane population has been conducted across the entire species range, smaller scale surveys have been undertaken increasingly in recent years. The Demoiselle Crane in the USSR (Kovshar and Neufeldt 1991) provides information from field surveys in many parts of the Demoiselle Crane’s breeding range. Autumn migrations have been most closely monitored in several key mountain passes of Nepal. Crane Research and Protection in Europe (Prange 1995) contains information on surveys in Ukraine, Georgia, Tuva, the Minusinsk basin, the Altai territory, central Kazakhstan, and central Asia. The wintering populations in India were first surveyed in 1982, and have been counted reliably since 1988 through the Asian Waterfowl Census (AWC), which is organized by the International Waterfowl Research Bureau and the Asian Wetland Bureau (Perennou and Mundkur 1991). The AWC has also provided numbers intermittently from Iran, Pakistan, China, and Nepal.
Ornithologists in Saudi Arabia began to monitor spring migrations of Demoiselle Cranes in 1992, and have endeavored to establish an annual monitoring program (Newton and Symens 1993, Newton in press b). In 1992, the Azov-Black Sea Ornithological Station in Ukraine established “The Virgo Programme” to monitor the Demoiselle Crane and other rare and disappearing bird species of the Ukrainian steppes. Economic and political constraints have hindered the realization of this program, but if carried forward it will provide a foundation for the long-term monitoring of the Black Sea population (Y. Andryushchenko pers. comm.). The Atlas population has not been reliably surveyed in recent years.
Research
Until recently, relatively little research had been undertaken on the Demoiselle Crane. Over the last decade, however, research has expanded rapidly throughout its range. The most extensive collection of information on the species is The Demoiselle Crane in the USSR (Kovshar and Neufeldt 1991), which includes 38 scientific papers on Demoiselle Crane distribution, population numbers, biology, flock movements, and migration patterns from various portions of its main breeding range. Additional scientific papers on Demoiselle Cranes in the former Soviet Union can be found in Cranes in the USSR (Neufeldt 1982), The Palearctic Cranes (Litvinenko and Neufeldt 1988) and Crane Research and Protection in Europe (Prange 1995). Since the mid-1980s, Chinese researchers have also expanded studies of the species (e.g., Gao and Pan 1985, Tong 1986, Ma et al. 1993).
Several recent studies have focused on the species’ breeding ecology (see Kovshar and Neufeldt 1991, Winter 1991, Yang and Tong 1991, Ma M. et al. 1993, Fujita et al. 1994). Research on migration has been undertaken in a number of countries, including China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia (Martens 1971, Gavrilov 1977, Bankovics 1987, Kovshar and Neufeldt 1991, Ahmad and Shah 1991, Newton and Symens 1993, Xu et al. 1995). Landfried et al. (1995) have combined studies of the impact of hunting on migrating cranes in Pakistan with efforts to involve local hunters and conservationists in future crane research.
Scientists at Ukraine’s Azov-Black Sea Ornithological Station have carried out extensive field studies of the Black Sea population over the last decade, providing a foundation for future protection and restoration efforts (Winter 1991, Winter et al. 1995). The breeding populations in the Atlas Mountains and Turkey populations are the least studied. Moroccan researchers have recently tried to locate Demoiselle Cranes near Fez, where over the last decade bird watchers have sighted them in April.
Non-governmental Organizations
Non-governmental organizations that have been active in various aspects of Demoiselle Crane conservation include the Wild Bird Society of Japan, the International Crane Foundation, the Mongolian Ornithological Society, the Annapurna Conservation Area Project, the Ecological Society (India), the Bombay Natural History Society, WWF-India, WWF-Pakistan, the International Center for Conservation Education, and BirdLife International.
Education and Training
The most intensive educational projects involving the Demoiselle Crane have been developed in India and Pakistan (Ahmad and Shah 1995, Landfried et al. 1995). These efforts have been undertaken in connection with the campaign to raise public awareness of the Central population of the Siberian Crane and to counteract heavy crane hunting pressures along the population’s migration route (which Eurasian Cranes from the Central Siberian population also use). Education programs involving Demoiselle Cranes have also been initiated in Ukraine (Winter et al. 1995), Saudi Arabia (Newton in press b), and Nepal (R. Suwal pers. comm.). Demoiselle Cranes are also featured in public education programs in wetland refuges and reserves of Russia and northeast China where they breed.
Captive Propagation and Reintroduction
The GCAR for cranes estimated that 1048 Demoiselle Cranes were in captivity as of 1993. Most are believed to be descended from birds from the eastern populations (Mirande et al. in press a). Demoiselle Cranes breed readily in captivity, and have long been popular in zoos. As a result, a large but unknown number of birds are maintained in the private sector, and unknown lineages are common within the captive population. A small but increasing percentage of the captive Demoiselle Cranes that are held as pets in Pakistan are bred. Captive propagation for conservation purposes has not been necessary, and at present there are no active or planned release programs for the species. However, reintroduction and releases are being considered for areas where the species is extinct or exists in critically low numbers (primarily in the case of the Atlas population).
Priority Conservation Measures
Developing a Conservation Program for the Atlas PopulationA coordinated program is urgently needed to assess the status and conservation needs of the dwindling Atlas population of Demoiselle Cranes. The following measures should receive priority in developing this plan:
- Undertake field surveys at the earliest opportunity to determine the numbers
and status (in particular, the breeding status) of the population.
- Provide the population and its habitats with protection from disturbance
and egg collecting. As a part of this effort, an educational program involving
dissemination of information about the population should be undertaken.
- Locate and provide greater protection for the population’s non-breeding
habitats, including possible sites along the Niger River and at Lake Chad
and Lake Fitri.
- Assess the status of the population’s breeding and wintering habitat and
the potential of these areas to support successful releases.
- Develop a program for the systematic monitoring of the population and its
habitats.
- Conduct genetic analyses of the population to determine the need for, and means of, supplementing the population with released birds. The decision to supplement the population should not be made until habitat assessments and genetic studies have been conducted. Translocation of birds from other parts of Africa may be the best option. If the Atlas population is supplemented with birds produced in captivity, it may be better to use existing stocks of birds of Asian origin than to establish a captive population from the African birds. This will depend on the significance of genetic differences (if any) between the Asian and African populations.
A coordinated program to protect the Black Sea population of Demoiselle Cranes should be elaborated and implemented. The following measures should be included as key components of this program.
- Provide stronger protection for the Black Sea population and its habitats
by strengthening the network of protected areas. Specific needs include:
- Expansion of Azov-Sivashki National Park (Ukraine) to include the staging area just south of the current boundary. (This area is also a critical habitat for the Eurasian Crane). The island of Churyuk should also be incorporated into the park (only about 1/4 of the island is currently within park boundaries).
- Establishment of a new protected area in the southeastern part of the Kerch Peninsula in Crimea.
- Establishment of new protected areas at resting areas along migration routes.
- Surveys of other critical breeding habitats in Ukraine for potential protection.
- Identification of the wintering grounds and assessment of the need for stronger protection.
- Protect breeding habitat outside of protected areas by working with landholders
to implement conservation measures. These measures include: halting of afforestation
projects in the steppe regions (and removal of existing plantations); fallowing
of strips within large cropfields; cultivation of appropriate crops; removal
of sheep from nesting areas; reduction of additional disturbance factors;
and development of educational materials concerning the methods and timing
of cultivation (see Winter et al. 1995). Such measures are required especially
in the population’s breeding range in the Zaporizhya, Dnipropetrovski, Khersonski,
and Donetski regions, and in Crimea.
- Develop a long-term monitoring capacity by providing full support for “The
Virgo Programme” of the Azov-Black Sea Ornithological Station in Ukraine.
- Conduct research on the breeding biology of the population and on the location,
status, and ecology of its wintering and staging areas in eastern Africa.
- Organize migration watches in the Balkan Peninsula and Cyprus.
- Develop educational programs for use throughout the population’s range.
It is especially important to publish booklets for farmers and other landholders
with information about the need for their assistance in protecting cranes.
- Examine the historic range and habitats of the Black Sea population, and the potential for its eventual reestablishment in areas from which it has been extirpated or now occurs only during migration (including Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, and southwestern and central Ukraine).
Little is known about the conservation status or needs of this population. The following steps are recommended to provide the foundation for future conservation efforts.
- Conduct field surveys and interviews to determine the size and distribution
of the population.
- Assess the status of the population’s habitat and any existing or potential
threats.
- Establish a locally based population and habitat monitoring program.
- Identify key local officials, citizens, and organizations with an interest in the conservation of this population and its habitats.
Legal and Cultural Protection
- Strengthen enforcement of existing restrictions on the hunting of cranes
(especially in Nepal, Pakistan, Georgia, and Afghanistan).
- Assess the legal status of the species in all range countries.
- Address the conservation needs of the Demoiselle Crane within an umbrella
international agreement on the conservation of the migratory cranes of East
Asia (Japan, Russia, China, Mongolia, and North and South Korea).
- Expand cooperative international efforts to determine the size and status
of Demoiselle Crane populations, to study migration routes, and to assess
conservation needs.
- Establish an international monitoring network to gather and disseminate information on the status of the species.
- Establish new protected areas in the Borgoi steppe and Eravninsky regions
of Buryatia and in the Republic of Tuva (Russia).
- Identify and establish new protected areas in Kalmykia (Russia).
- Expand the Kurgaldzhinski Nature Reserve (Kazakhstan).
- Establish a new protected areas in the Turgaiski region of Kazakhstan.
- Survey other key breeding areas in the eastern portions of the breeding
range and identify important sites for potential establishment of protected
areas.
- Assess the effectiveness of the protected areas in Pakistan and the need for expansion and/or upgrading.
- Undertake a comprehensive assessment of the impact of agricultural development
on the Kalmykia, Kazakhstan/Central Asia, and Eastern populations.
- Develop and disseminate information on agricultural production practices that minimize interference between cranes and people at different times of the year.
- Develop lure crops to minimize crop damage at staging areas of the Kazakhstan/Central
Asia population.
- Support development of crane conservation activities (e.g., migration monitoring programs and educational programs) through Nepal’s Annapurna Conservation Area Project.
- In conjunction with efforts to monitor the Atlas and Black Sea populations,
develop a coordinated and standardized monitoring program to determine the
size of, and trends in, the Kalmykia, Kazakhstan/Central Asia, and Eastern
populations.
- Continue migration monitoring in Saudi Arabia, and expand the program to
include other countries along the Middle East migration corridors.
- Strengthen efforts to monitor migration and migratory habitats in Pakistan.
- Expand winter surveys in Sudan, western Ethiopia, and the Lake Chad basin.
- Continue regular winter surveys in India, and expand current efforts to cover the entire Indian subcontinent.
- Determine more precisely, through banding and radio tracking programs, the
breeding range, migration routes, resting areas, and wintering grounds of
all populations.
- Conduct additional studies of the factors affecting breeding success in
agricultural areas, giving special attention to the impact of various production
methods.
- Expand studies of the impacts of hunting on the crane populations migrating
through Pakistan.
- Conduct coordinated international studies to understand better the timing
of migration, the numbers involved, flight behavior, and climatic influences
on migration patterns.
- Undertake a comprehensive review of the incidence of crop damage by migrating
Demoiselle Cranes (including a compilation of available information on timing,
location, types of crops involved, contributing factors, and farmer response).
- Undertake specific studies of the status and environmental characteristics
of protected areas and other critical habitats.
- Determine through genetic research the degree of divergence between the African and Asian populations.
- Develop locally-based education programs for students and the general public
to better protect the species on its breeding grounds. Emphasis in these programs
should be given to the ecology of the Eurasian steppes, changing land use
in the steppes, and efforts to protect cranes, other grassland birds, and
native steppe vegetation.
- Develop public education programs along the migration routes of the Demoiselle
Crane, with special emphasis on crane counts and the biology of migration.
In many areas, these can be coordinated with similar efforts for the Eurasian
Crane.
- Expand targeted education programs in Pakistan and Afghanistan to address the problems resulting from high hunting pressure and to increase the level of awareness of crane conservation among hunters, students, and local citizens and officials.
- Implement the following recommendations of the crane GCAR and CAMP (Mirande
et al. in press a):
- Organize the genealogical data on the captive population.
- Based on this information, manage a subset of birds with known genealogies representing at least 20 lines, with a target population of 200 individuals.
- Manage the Eurasian populations at the Intensive-2 (C priority) level.
- Determine the need for, and possible means of, supplementing the Atlas population (see above).
- Examine the need for and feasibility of reintroduction in portions of the
species’ historic range where it has been extirpated, has reached critically
low numbers, or occurs only during migration (e.g., Spain, Ukraine, Bulgaria,
Romania, Iraq, Tunisia, Algeria).
- Monitor the growth of the captive population to avoid competition with higher
priority crane species and other avian taxa for the space and resources of
captive breeding programs.
- Conduct a training workshop in Pakistan to encourage the propagation of birds already in captivity (rather than the capture of wild birds) for pets.
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