The rare return of a member of the endangered red-headed cranes on March 8 after nearly two decades away has rewarded conservationists’ dedication and is expected to draw more visitors to an internationally recognized bird sanctuary in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta.

Nguyen Van Hung, director of Tram Chim National Park, spanning several communes of Tam Nong District in Dong Thap Province, said that he had accidentally snapped shots of a male ‘seu dau do’ (red-headed crane) to which he and his colleagues had attached a positioning device 18 years ago.

The bird is now feeding and nesting along with its new family at the sanctuary, which became the world’s 2,000^th and Vietnam’s 4^th Ramsar site in February 2012.

The red-headed crane, the largest of the crane family and the world’s tallest flying bird, has teetered on the brink of global extinction over the past several years.

Carrying the scientific name Grus antigone, the non-migratory crane, which typically stands up to 1.8 meters tall, can be distinguished from other cranes by their overall grey color and distinctive red head and upper neck.

The number of red-headed cranes has declined steeply over the past century.

The bird has been listed in Vietnam’s Red Book and the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.

Hung said it was the first time in ten years any bird with a tracking ring had returned to the park.

Like an old friend

Last month, while looking at photos taken of a red-headed crane family, Hung was astonished to spot a cock bird which he and his team of experts had captured and attached a positioning device to on March 14, 1998.

The crane was only three years old then.

Two Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters accompanied Hung on a recent visit to the Tram Chim park.

With his camera ready, the park director patiently waited in his camouflage outfit near a 1,000-hectare stretch of ‘co nang’ (a variety of grass), secluded in the A1 subsection in the heart of the park.

Red-headed cranes typically flock to the ‘co nang’ grasslands for food whenever spring comes.

A family of red-headed cranes. Courtesy of Nguyen Van Hung

“As soon as I noticed and suspected the crane to be the one from 18 years ago, I wrote to Jeb Barzen, a member of International Crane Foundation based in the U.S., and attached the photos,” Hung said.

The foundation works globally to conserve cranes and their ecosystems by providing education and inspiration to people to remove threats to the animal, according to its website.

One day later, in his reply, Barzen confirmed the ring on the crane’s leg was put on by himself in the A4 zone of the Tram Chim park in March 1998.

Hung added that at that time experts from the International Crane Foundation, Ornithological Society of Japan, the Center for Natural Resources and Environmental Studies under the Vietnam National University-Hanoi and Tram Chim park management worked closely on a project designed to attach the device and rings to cranes.

The data and parameters would later be used to facilitate comprehensive research on the red-crowned cranes’ formation, annual movement and habits, as well as the feathered animal’s favorite feeding grounds in Tram Chim, the Mekong Detla province of Kien Giang, the southern province of Tay Ninh and Cambodia.

“It took us an entire year to prepare and another month to fasten the device and rings of different colors on seven cock and hen cranes aged three to five,” Hung recalled.

The cock red-headed crane (first right) returns to Tram Chim National Park with a device and ring it has worn for 18 years. Courtesy of Nguyen Van Hung

He did the fastening himself on four of the birds, including the returning crane.

The seven team members also took turns to tend to the fowls for around one month before releasing them into the wild.

Hung provided days-long care for the returning crane upon its arrival at the sanctuary.

“The 21-year-old crane is not much different from what it was nearly 20 years ago. It’s just like seeing an old friend again,” he shared.

Conservation efforts

In 2006, Hung took photos of three red-crowned cranes of the same family with rings on their legs when they came back to the Tram Chim park for food.

Over recent years, the number of recurring residents has shrunk notably.

Only a flock of 15 birds have been recorded at the park since January this year.

“The dwindling number of the red-headed cranes, the park’s iconic fowl, has driven conservationists to be worried,” Hung said.

The bird authority was born and grew up nearby and has worked at the park for over 26 years.

Hung once considered leaving the area for the chance to make a better living, but he has stayed on, feeling a part of the park and bonding intimately with its animals.

“The bird is hale, hearty and happy with its own family. It bolsters our resolve to boost conservation efforts and raise people’s awareness of safeguarding wildlife,” Hung said.

“However, there has yet to be any scientific opinion regarding the crane’s return. The occurrence needs further research,” he noted.

Two conservationists fasten a positioning device and ring to a red-headed crane. Photo: Doan Hong

Hung said specialists at the Tram Chim park are working closely with the International Crane Foundation and Vietnam’s University of Science on a project to revive the flock of cranes.

They have applied to the local government for grants.

Nguyen Van Duong, chair of the Dong Thap People’s Committee, told Tuoi Tre on March 12 that the committee had approved the project.

“The returning fowl is solid evidence of the park’s nourishing environment and is expected to attract more visitors,” he added.

Le Hoang Long, director of Tram Chim Park’s Tourism and Environmental Education Center, revealed that the park received 175,000 visits in 2015, with more than 5,000 arrivals each on peak days.

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