Captive bred cranes nearly ready for release in Somerset

07/07/2010 14:35:40 Great crane project aims to bring back the crane across the UK
July 2010. A group of cranes, which will be released into Somerset later this year as part of the Great Crane Project, have mastered movement and foraging for food, despite being bred in captivity. They have been taught lessons by two dedicated ‘crane parents' Roland Digby and Amy King who have dressed up in adult crane costumes to disguise their human form.

Now that they are almost self sufficient they need to interact with them less and less and the final lesson of social interaction and group bonding is the focus.

Amy, added: "When cranes are very young they are extremely competitive so we have to separate them in case they fight and injure each other with their sharp beaks. It is great to see them foraging for food now as a group. At the moment they are learning their place in the group and bonding just like teenagers do. It is very similar to playground banter with the odd challenge here and there but they have got to a stage where they are friendly.

"This crane (in the picture) is telling the other one ‘I'm boss so don't get under my feet'. They are starting to learn their place with some of the less dominant ones moving out of the way for others. With cranes though it is a lot simpler than with humans as the size of the crane generally determines social hierarchy."

In August the group of cranes will leave WWT Slimbridge and head for a temporary release enclosure on the Somerset levels and moors, where they will later be released.

The Great Crane Project
The Great Crane Project is a partnership between WWT, RSPB, The Pensthorpe Conservation Trust and Viridor Credits Environmental Company.

They aim is to restore healthy populations of wild cranes throughout the UK, so that people can once again experience these beautiful birds. Some 20 cranes will be released every year for the next five years.