Sarus crane taken from UP farmer is being trained for the wild: zoo officials

Kanpur: The sarus crane that became friends with a farmer in Amethi and later taken from him by wildlife officials is now being trained for its return to wildlife.

Kanpur Zoo officials told PTI that they are gradually shifting the wild bird from cooked foods to its natural raw diet. "The sarus crane is being rehabilitated for the wild by slowly changing its habit of eating cooked food like maggi, daal, rice, and khichdi to eating a raw diet that is more suitable for wild birds like cranes," said zoo director Krishna Kumar Singh.

The sarus crane was found injured on a farm a year ago. Farmer Mohammed Arif took it home and nursed it back to health. He expected it to leave his home after recovery. But the bird chose to stay in and around his farm and home. After the wildlife officials took an interest in the matter, Arif insisted that he never forced or trained the bird to stay with him. Several social media posts he made also showed the bird flying freely around.

The zoo officials have kept the crane in a 40 x 25-foot enclosure. Singh claimed the zoo officials have gained 80% success in helping the crane adapt to a suitable diet including raw grains, insects, crustaceans, spinach, and water hyacinth. "Once the bird recovers its health completely, it will be sent back to its true home of the wilderness."

The bird was brought to the zoo on March 25 and has been cut off from almost all human contact. It still prefers human company over wildlife and likes to be fed by hand. Officials think it is because the bird spent a year with Arif.

Last month, Arif was allowed to meet the bird at the zoo. The bird was still inside the enclosure and Arif could only interact with it from outside. The sarus crane was visibly excited to see him and kept lifting his head as high as possible to see its friend. The video of their interaction went viral on social media.