Siberian White Crane

Facts

IUCN CRITICALLY ENDANGERED (CR)

Facts about this animal

Siberian cranes stand about 1.4 m tall, with an average weight of 5.1-8.6 kg in males and 4.9-7.3 kg in females. Otherwise the sexes are alike.

The plumage of the Siberian Crane is nearly entire white. The front of the face and forecrown is bare and red with thin bristles of white or yellow-brown colour on centre of crown, and the tips of the wings are black.

The bill is brown-red or brick-red with slightly paler tip. It is long, slender and laterally compressed. The legs and feet are pale red, pink, or dull red, with black claws. The iris is pale yellow, in some birds it may be t9nged pink, ivory or red.

The Siberian crane is the most aquatic of the cranes, exclusively using wetlands for nesting, feeding, and roosting. For nesting, wide expanses of shallow fresh water with good visibility are preferred.

As in other cranes, usually two eggs are laid, which are incubated for about 29 days by both parents. The chicks fledge (first flight) at approximately 70-75 days.

Siberian cranes feed on cranberries, rodents, fish and insects. On migration and on the wintering grounds, they excavate nutrient rich roots and tubers from wetlands. They are predominantly vegetarian outside their breeding season.

Did you know?
that for reaching their wintering grounds in India, Sibnerian cranes have to fly over the Himalaya Mountains almost at cruising altitude for jetliners?

Factsheet
Class	AVES
Order	GRUIFORMES
Suborder	GRUES
Family	GRUIDAE
Name (Scientific)	Grus leucogeranus
Name (English)	Siberian White Crane
Name (French)	Grue blanche d'Asie, Grue nonne
Name (German)	Schneekranich, Nonnenkranich
Name (Spanish)	Grulla blanca asiática
CITES Status	Appendix I
CMS Status	Appendix I Included in AEWA

Photo Copyright by
Vladimír Motyčka

Distribution

Distribution
Range	There are two or more breeding areas in the tundra/taiga transition zone of Siberia (Russia), and there are two wintering populations, the western migrating to Iran and India, and the eastern to China.
Habitat	Wetlands
Wild population	Western subpopulation: 4 (2002) and Poyang Lake: 3,750 (2008) (Red List IUCN 2011)
Zoo population	About 200, of which 58 reported to ISIS (2005)

In the Zoo

How this animal should be transported

For air transport, Container Note 17 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations should be followed.

Find this animal on ZooLex

Photo Copyright by
Vladimír Motyčka

Why do zoos keep this animal

The Siberian crane is rated critically endangered by IUCN. With a view of building up a reserve population and supporting reintroductions, an International Studbook has been established under the WAZA umbrella, and coordinated conservation breeding programmes are operated at the regional level by EAZA and JAZA.

How this animal should be kept

During the breeding season, adult Siberian Cranes must be kept in pairs to prevent aggression mortality. During the winter half year keeping in larger groups may be possible. Subadults up to 3 years of age may be kept in bachelor groups.

An outdoor enclosure or aviary of at least 300 m² for each pair is required. Ideally, the enclosure should include grass-covered soil planted with sedge grasses and a few low bushes or trees. A shallow pool is advisable for enrichment. Aviaries must be at least 3 m high and should be flight netted to prevent escape and contact with wild birds. Pinioning should be avoided as this may result in decreased reproductive capability. In cold and temperate climates a frost-free indoor enclosure of at least 10 m² is recommended but not absolutely necessary.

Siberian cranes should be fed a formulated crane diet. If such a diet is unavailable, a balanced diet may be designed using plant material and grain mixes to which a moderate amount of minced meat, insects or small vertebrates such as fish, mice, or day-old chicks have been added.

For extensive husbandry and breeding guidelines see Cranes: Their Biology, Husbandry, and Conservation at http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/resshow/gee/cranbook/cranebook.htm