Two red-headed cranes, also known as Sarus cranes, will be transferred from Thailand to Tram Chim National Park in Dong Thap Province, southern Vietnam early next month as part of a plan to revive and preserve Sarus crane flocks there.

Red-headed cranes are an endangered bird species listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.

The two cranes are expected to arrive at the national park before the province announces the crane recovery plan on December 14.

Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Le Quoc Phong on Tuesday led a delegation to inspect the crane farming area and items of a project to preserve and develop flocks of Sarus cranes at Tram Chim National Park.

Nguyen Van Lam, director of the national park, reported that a provincial delegation arrived in Thailand early this month to negotiate for the two cranes.

The Dong Thap Party Committee on Tuesday last week wrote to the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs asking for support in working with the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs to complete procedures to receive the cranes, Lam added.

Phong required the management unit of Tram Chim National Park to quickly complete infrastructure as well as crane care and preservation plans.

The national park must work out a detailed plan to transport the cranes by road and air late this month at the latest.

It should design an area where visitors can admire the cranes and ask for experts’ opinions to take care of the birds in order not to affect them after they are transported to Dong Thap, the provincial official noted.

On November 3, the administration of Dong Thap Province approved the plan to preserve and develop flocks of Sarus cranes at Tram Chim National Park in 2022-32 at a cost of nearly VND185 billion (US$7.6 million).

Of the total, nearly VND56 billion ($2.3 million) will be used for receiving and nurturing Sarus cranes and studying their reproduction to scale up flocks; nearly VND25 billion ($1 million) for the improvement and restoration of their ecosystem and habitat; VND36 billion ($1.5 million) for the development of an eco-agricultural production model; VND17 billion ($0.7 million) for communications; and some VND52 billion ($2.1 million) for infrastructure and equipment.

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