Dong Thap will receive a pair of cranes transferred from Thailand.

After more than half a year of negotiations, Dong Thap reached an agreement to bring red-crowned cranes from Thailand to Tram Chim National Park, aiming to restore this rare bird species.

On May 16, Vice Chairman of Dong Thap People's Committee Nguyen Phuoc Thien said that the authorities of the two countries reached an agreement to receive red-crowned cranes from Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo (Nakhon Province), along with solutions to help the cranes adapt to new living conditions. Currently, Tram Chim National Park has completed the preparation of the crane care area and sent officials to Thailand to learn from experience.

A flock of red-crowned cranes during a visit to Tram Chim National Park. Photo: Nguyen Van Hung — A flock of red-crowned cranes during a visit to Tram Chim National Park. Photo: *Nguyen Van Hung*

Red-crowned cranes are rare animals, so the transfer must go through many stages. The recipient of the cranes is responsible for reimbursing a symbolic amount for care and domestication (not considered a sale). In addition, cranes are considered a "national treasure" of the Thai people, so their zoo representative will choose two animals in Vietnam to conduct the exchange.

According to Mr. Thien, the first pair of cranes will be transferred from the zoo in Thailand to Dong Thap in 2024. These are two 6-month-old adult cranes, in the growing stage. The locality expects to receive about 20 cranes in the next 4 years, both to care for and train them.

Dong Thap province has determined that the crane conservation project will be carried out step by step over a long period of time because it took Thailand decades to restore the cranes in the wild. "Despite the enthusiastic support from our friends, we are determined that we cannot have results in just a few years," said Mr. Thien, adding that the province has a plan to mobilize social resources to conserve cranes.

Crane training in Thailand. Photo: ICF — Crane training in Thailand. Photo: *ICF*

Master Nguyen Hoai Bao, Deputy Director of the Center for Wetland Research (University of Natural Sciences, Ho Chi Minh City), currently an expert consultant for the crane conservation project, said that the project initially planned to import eggs from Thailand for incubation. However, experts realized that Tram Chim's resources were not enough to carry out these steps, there would be many risks when hatching and raising the chicks, causing additional costs.

Tram Chim National Park, 7,500 hectares wide, used to be frequented by flocks of cranes migrating from Cambodia, sometimes thousands of them in the 1990s. However, due to the decline of the flock and mistakes in ecological management, the cranes have gradually disappeared. Dong Thap has built a project, with a plan to raise and release 150 cranes into the wild in 10 years, of which at least 100 will survive to multiply the flock.

Late last year, Dong Thap planned to receive a pair of cranes from the zoo in the capital Vientiane (Laos), but one of the two later died due to health reasons, so the transfer to Vietnam was postponed.

The Sarus Crane is distinguished by its red, bare head and neck, grey wing stripes and tail. Adults are 1.5-1.8 m tall, have a 2.2-2.5 m wingspan and weigh 8-10 kg. Three-year-old cranes pair up to breed and spend a year raising their young before reproducing.

Ngoc Tai

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