This Wednesday when I visited the Sultanpur National Park in Gurgaon with a couple of acquaintances, I did not expect to see much. However, when I reached the location I was pleasantly surprised to see the latest offspring of a pair of young Sarus Cranes. I was surprised to see how nervous the pair of birds were on spotting me, but later realised that they were anxious for the safety of their little one that was lurking in the depths of the grass! This little chick would be the cousin of an earlier spotted a year old juvenile that I had spotted during the winter season.
I was able to spot the older cousin of the chick later on while exploring the National Park. It became clear that there were two different families in the park. The latest family had probably given birth to their first offspring. This in itself is good news for the park as it means that we will be seeing two new offsprings of the Sarus Cranes growing into maturity; an increase in the population of Sarus Cranes that live in and around the National Park. I have spotted the older chick a number of times whenever I visited the Park. I was, moreover pleased to see that the elder cousin of the chick was able to take flight along with its parents. I was, unfortunately, not able to get close to the second family of the older cousin because the moment they spotted me, they flew away!
The first glimpse of the youngest parents of the Sarus Crane Chick did not, initially reveal that they were nursing their (probably first) offspring as it remained hidden in the grass. The young parents of the chick were rather nervous and wouldn't stay still. This was a bit surprising because, in earlier times, the Sarus Cranes appeared rather dismissive, though cautious on spotting me. In the above photograph, it looks as if the parents are communicating their concerns about the welfare of their offspring on seeing me. At that time, I wasn't aware of the young offspring hidden in the grass. It was only later on that it emerged from its cover and I was able to photograph it.
The chicks of Sarus Cranes, as you might observe from the photographs have a dull brown plumage and they don't get the bright red, grey and white colour scheme of the grown-ups for quite some time, probably after more than a couple of years after they are born. I have seen the older family guarding their offspring for almost a year now. This suggests that Sarus cranes are not only dedicated to each other in matrimony but also that they are caring parents who nurture their offspring for more than a year. This speaks volumes about how familial Sarus Cranes are!
Each day I see the juvenile Sarus Crane, my heart swells out in hope for all those wild birds and animals that are being threatened by developmental activities in the area. A few years back, one could spot Sarus Cranes in the Basai Wetland, but now that it has become a target for development, Basai Wetland is no longer home to the tallest flying birds in the world. Human greed, shortsightedness and lack of planning have resulted in the destruction of most of the wetlands in Gurgaon. We call ourselves educated, enlightened and wise, but, unfortunately, we are simply not doing enough to preserve the Biodiversity hotspots in Gurgaon!
The presence of cattle in the Sultanpur National Park is perhaps another example of how even in Wildlife Sanctuaries, even in the so-called Ramsar Sites, the actual wildlife has to vie for space with domestic cattle, dogs, and cats! We keep touting our National Parks as Biodiversity hotspots because they earn us some revenue, but then we turn a blind eye towards the destruction of better-populated wetlands because they don't earn us any revenue.
Superb shots of Sarus bird and chick.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Uncle!
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