Rare Black-necked Crane killed by village children, with a catapult
- 5 years ago
Kids use a catapult to hunt the most endangered Black-necked Crane or Grus nigricollis and then they show off. This poor Black necked Crane was killed in Arunachal Pradesh.
The Black-necked Crane or Grus nigricollis is a medium-sized crane in Asia that breeds on the Tibetan Plateau and winters mainly in remote parts of India and Bhutan. It is 139 cm long with a 235 cm wingspan and weighs 5.5 kg. It is whitish-gray, with a black head, red crown patch, black upper neck and legs, and white patch to the rear of the eye. Both sexes are similar. Some populations are known to make seasonal movements. This medium-sized crane is mostly grey with a black head and neck. The lores and crown are naked and dull red. A small patch of white feathers are present below and behind the eye. The tail is black and makes it easy to distinguish at a distance from the similar looking Common Crane which has grey tail. The Black-necked Crane summers mainly in the high altitude Tibetan Plateau. The breeding areas are alpine meadows, lakeside and riverine marshes and river valleys. They also make use of barley and wheat fields in these areas. Wintering areas tend to be in sheltered valleys or lower altitudes.
Currently, the Black-necked Crane winters in small numbers in two valleys of western Arunachal Pradesh, India. These are Sangti and Zemithang. Black-necked Cranes forage on the ground in small groups, often with one bird acting as a sentinel. In winter, the groups arrive and leave the feeding grounds together, but may split into family groups, each group keeping their own small feeding territories in a big marshes or fields. They feed on the tubers of sedges, plant roots, earthworms, insects and other invertebrates, frogs and other small vertebrates. They may also feed on fallen grains of barley, oats and buckwheat and will sometimes dig up and feed on potatoes, carrots and turnips. Their loud trumpeting calls are similar to those of other cranes.
The Black-necked Crane is evaluated as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. These birds are very wary, but in some areas they are accustomed to the local people who do not disturb them. These cranes appear to be able to distinguish people in traditional dress and are especially wary of others. The estimated population of the Black-necked Crane is between 8800 and 11000 individuals. These birds are legally protected in China, India and Bhutan. However habitat modification, drying of lakes and agriculture are threats to the populations. In many areas, dogs belonging to herders are a major threat to young birds. Collisions with power lines have been another cause of mortality in some areas. Eggs may also be preyed on by ravens that may use the opportunity provided when humans disturb the parents. The drying of wetlands can cause increased accessibility of the nests leading to predation while a rise in the water level can submerge nests. Loss and degradation of habitat are the main threats facing the Black-necked Cranes. The problems are most serious in the wintering areas, where wetlands are extensively affected by human activity including irrigation, dam construction, draining, and grazing pressure.
This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of thousands of hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM 1080i High Definition, HDV and XDCAM. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world... Reach us at wfi @ vsnl.com and admin@wildfilmsindia.com
The Black-necked Crane or Grus nigricollis is a medium-sized crane in Asia that breeds on the Tibetan Plateau and winters mainly in remote parts of India and Bhutan. It is 139 cm long with a 235 cm wingspan and weighs 5.5 kg. It is whitish-gray, with a black head, red crown patch, black upper neck and legs, and white patch to the rear of the eye. Both sexes are similar. Some populations are known to make seasonal movements. This medium-sized crane is mostly grey with a black head and neck. The lores and crown are naked and dull red. A small patch of white feathers are present below and behind the eye. The tail is black and makes it easy to distinguish at a distance from the similar looking Common Crane which has grey tail. The Black-necked Crane summers mainly in the high altitude Tibetan Plateau. The breeding areas are alpine meadows, lakeside and riverine marshes and river valleys. They also make use of barley and wheat fields in these areas. Wintering areas tend to be in sheltered valleys or lower altitudes.
Currently, the Black-necked Crane winters in small numbers in two valleys of western Arunachal Pradesh, India. These are Sangti and Zemithang. Black-necked Cranes forage on the ground in small groups, often with one bird acting as a sentinel. In winter, the groups arrive and leave the feeding grounds together, but may split into family groups, each group keeping their own small feeding territories in a big marshes or fields. They feed on the tubers of sedges, plant roots, earthworms, insects and other invertebrates, frogs and other small vertebrates. They may also feed on fallen grains of barley, oats and buckwheat and will sometimes dig up and feed on potatoes, carrots and turnips. Their loud trumpeting calls are similar to those of other cranes.
The Black-necked Crane is evaluated as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. These birds are very wary, but in some areas they are accustomed to the local people who do not disturb them. These cranes appear to be able to distinguish people in traditional dress and are especially wary of others. The estimated population of the Black-necked Crane is between 8800 and 11000 individuals. These birds are legally protected in China, India and Bhutan. However habitat modification, drying of lakes and agriculture are threats to the populations. In many areas, dogs belonging to herders are a major threat to young birds. Collisions with power lines have been another cause of mortality in some areas. Eggs may also be preyed on by ravens that may use the opportunity provided when humans disturb the parents. The drying of wetlands can cause increased accessibility of the nests leading to predation while a rise in the water level can submerge nests. Loss and degradation of habitat are the main threats facing the Black-necked Cranes. The problems are most serious in the wintering areas, where wetlands are extensively affected by human activity including irrigation, dam construction, draining, and grazing pressure.
This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of thousands of hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM 1080i High Definition, HDV and XDCAM. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world... Reach us at wfi @ vsnl.com and admin@wildfilmsindia.com