Conservation of the Vulnerable sarus crane Grus
antigone antigone in Kota, Rajasthan, India:
a case study of community involvement
Jatinder Kaur, Anil Nair and B.C. Choudhury
Abstract The sarus crane, a bird species characteristic of
wetlands, is categorized as vulnerable on the IUCN Red
List. In India, sarus cranes occur mostly outside protected
areas and use these unprotected areas for feeding and
breeding. They are consequently threatened by poaching
and the destruction of their eggs and juveniles. To protect
the crane’s habitat and nests a community education and
awareness campaign was carried out, using audiovisual
shows and presentations, in villages and schools in the
vicinity of sarus crane nesting sites in Kota district,
Rajasthan. In 2004–2005 protection of 22 nests by volunteer
Rural Village Sarus Protection Groups, formed as
a result of the campaign, resulted in the successful fledging
of 19 chicks, including some in the dry season. Our
experience with this project demonstrated that it is possible
to re-establish a bond between farmers and nature, and
work on community involvement for the sarus crane is
continuing, with the involvement of more districts in
Rajasthan.
Keywords Breeding, community conservation, Grus antigone
antigone, India, Kota, nesting, sarus crane.
Community conservation is considered an important
contemporary tool for nature conservation (Adams &
Hulme, 2001) but has mostly been implemented in and
around protected areas rather than for the conservation of
species occurring outside such areas. Here we present a case
study of community conservation in India for the sarus
crane Grus antigone antigone, which is categorized as
Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List (IUCN, 2007) and occurs
mostly in unprotected, wetland habitats. Although the
sarus crane is regarded as a wetland species (Meine &
Archibald, 1996; BirdLife International, 2001) it is increasingly
being forced into agricultural fields because of the
deterioration and destruction of its natural wetland habitat
(Mukherjee, 1999; Sundar et al., 2000; Sundar & Choudhury,
2003). In India there are some Community Conserved
Areas for particular species (Pathak & Kothari, 2006) but
the sarus crane, which is not restricted to a single village or
area, has not benefited from such schemes.
Kota district in Rajasthan has one of the largest reported
breeding populations of sarus cranes and is one of the few
places in India where the species can breed twice per year:
in the wet season (July–October) and the dry season
(February–May). This occurs because of the canalized
system of the River Chambal (Vyas, 1999a,b; J. Kaur,
unpubl. data; Fig. 1). The canal is used to deliver water to
the cooling plants of an electricity generation unit once
every 15 days during the summer, which results in water
flowing into the marshes along the canal. This causes the
cranes to attempt a second breeding period. In a study
during 1999–2002 disturbance by people was determined to
be the greatest cause of egg mortality, with nests destroyed
by children or removed by the itinerant labour force
(Sundar et al., 2000; Kaur & Choudhury, 2002, 2003a,b).
In addition, feral and unmanaged dogs hunt down prefledged
chicks (J. Kaur, pers. obs.). Reduction of breeding
success following the destruction of eggs or killing of chicks
could lead to local extinctions of slow-breeding species such
as the sarus crane.
Meine & Archibald (1996) suggested that wetland
conservation should be integrated into village-based education
and development programmes for preserving the
habitat of the sarus crane in India. In the arid landscape
of Rajasthan where water scarcity is a major concern, retention
of minimum water levels in wetlands, and protection
and management of these wetlands, are beneficial
both for the sarus crane and for the people living in close
proximity. Conservation action for the species is urgently
required, including education and community development
programmes (BirdLife International, 2001). Such
activities are important for the sarus crane because it
occurs mainly on private and community lands (Sundar
et al., 2000; Sundar & Choudhury, 2003). However, few
activities have been implemented to raise awareness of
the need to conserve the sarus cranes (Trivedi, 2007), and
no projects have previously been implemented to encourage
the participation of local people in sarus crane
conservation.
JATINDERKAUR (Corresponding author) 81, Shopping Centre, Kota, Rajasthan,
India. E-mail kaurjatinder@rediffmail.com
ANIL NAIR Hadothi Naturalist Society, 81, Shopping Centre, Kota, Rajasthan,
India.
B.C. CHOUDHURY Endangered Species Management Department, Wildlife
Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradhun, India.
Received 11 July 2006. Revision requested 4 October 2006.
Accepted 26 April 2007.
ª 2008 Fauna & Flora International, Oryx, 42(3), 452–455 doi:10.1017/S0030605308000215 Printed in the United Kingdom
In an attempt to increase the breeding success of the
cranes a preliminary education and awareness campaign
was carried out in Kota during 2000–2002 (Kaur &
Choudhury, 2003a). Farmers and villagers were approached
personally and made aware of the need to protect crane
nests, and printed postcards and pamphlets about the
cranes were distributed in the community. Villagers and
farmers were instrumental in protecting adult sarus cranes
from poaching and were responsible for the successful
fledging of a total of 19 hatchlings from 22 nests during the
wet seasons of 2000 and 2001 (Table 1) but none during the
dry season.
TABLE 1 Numbers of sarus crane nests monitored and chicks successfully fledged during the wet and dry seasons of 2000 and 2001,
the wet season of 2004 and the dry season of 2005. The total of 22 nests monitored in 2004–2005 included some of the same nests as in
2000–2001.
Year Months (season)
No. of nests
monitored
No. of chicks
successfully fledged
2000 Jul.–Oct. (wet) 19 2
Feb.–May (dry) 7 0
2001 Jul.–Oct. (wet) 21 17
Feb.–May (dry) 3 0
Total 22 19
2004 Jul.–Oct. (wet) 16 13
2005 Feb.–May (dry) 6 7
Total 22 19
FIG. 1 Locations of nesting sarus cranes in the study area in Kota district, Rajasthan, India (some points represent more than one nest).
Nesting sites along natural wetlands are 1L (Lakawa), 2R (Ranpur), 3K (Kalatalab), 4H (Haripura) and 5KA (Keshoraipatan) and, along
the canal, 1UC (Ummedganj-Dad Devi), 2U (Ummedganj-K. Palace), 3UA-3UB (Ummedganj-Overflow-I, II), 4U (Ummedganj-
Sursagar), 3SA-SB (Sorsan-Dabur, Railgaon-I), 2SB (Sorsan-Railgaon-II), 2SA (Sorsan-Janakpur) and 6SA (Sorsan-Amalsara).
Conservation of the sarus crane 453
ª 2008 Fauna & Flora International, Oryx, 42(3), 452–455
Building on the work carried out in 2000–2002 (Kaur &
Choudhury, 2003a) we carried out further work in the same
area in Kota from July 2004 to May 2005. Our aims were to
conduct a more thorough awareness campaign for the sarus
crane, with the involvement of local communities and
NGOs, and to assess the impact of the campaign. Field
visits to important sarus crane breeding sites were made
every week during the breeding season. One thousand
colour pamphlets and 500 postcards in local languages were
printed for distribution in schools and villages. The
pamphlets and postcards helped us obtain information
from people about sarus crane nesting sites and juveniles,
and reached people via their children in school or via
friends and neighbours. People provided information by
letter, phone, and in personal visits. The use of such printed
postcards and pamphlets can be effective in gathering
information from a wide area and from people who cannot
be reached directly by any other means.
Audiovisual shows and lectures on the sarus crane,
including a short documentary film explaining the breeding
period, habitat, and development of the chicks, were
undertaken with local NGOs (Table 2). The shows helped
to dispel misconceptions regarding the crane’s supposed
destruction of crops, showed that its eggshells are ineffective
for various health problems, increased people’s
knowledge of the species’ breeding biology, and demonstrated
the importance of the surrounding wetlands for the
species. A quiz competition was conducted after the shows,
and prizes were given to the winners. Schoolchildren living
near breeding sites were taken to nesting sites (Table 2) and
shown how to protect the nests and the chicks. To
minimize the threat of nests being destroyed by farmers,
letters were presented to the landowners of seven sites
where sarus cranes were breeding, requesting the landowners
to protect the cranes’ nests.
During the project we decided it was necessary to erect
sign boards in important crane breeding sites to appeal to
people whom we could not contact directly. A local school
teacher volunteered to paint walls and sign boards. An
interpretation board was installed at Ummedganj, a key
breeding site for the sarus crane on the main canal of the
river Chambal, and a painting was made at Janakpur on the
outside wall of a house, and another at the Government
Upper Primary School, Amalsara. Both these sites are
situated on the way to the Great Indian Bustard Protected
Area close to the canal. These paintings had information on
the nesting of sarus cranes, information about the bird
being farmer-friendly because it eats insects, that use of the
bird’s eggshell as medicine is harmful, and requesting
further information regarding the sarus crane, with contact
details of the researchers.
These interpretation boards and wall paintings were
helpful in soliciting more information from villagers on an
additional seven, previously unknown, sites comprising 23
adult and five juvenile sarus cranes. This simple method
could be used as an effective model for gaining information
on other species outside protected areas.
Sarus crane nests were monitored along the irrigation
canal system in and around Kota city. During the field visits
and awareness programmes villagers voluntarily came forward
to form a total of 17 Rural Village Sarus Protection
Groups. The responsibilities the Groups took on were the
protection of eggs and juveniles from poaching and predation,
and to ensure that during the nesting seasons
the ponds and wetlands used by the sarus cranes were
not disturbed. A total of 19 chicks successfully fledged from
22 nests in 2004-2005, including some in the dry season
(Table 1).
Although many individuals were helpful during the
crane nesting period, nine people made outstanding
TABLE 2 The six villages in which people participated in the lectures and slide and film shows, with the approximate number of people
participating, and the seven schools where slide and film shows were presented, with the numbers of students and teachers attending and
the number of children that were subsequently taken to sarus crane breeding sites.
Village (and school)
No. of
people
No. of
students
No. of
teachers
No. of students
taken to
breeding sites
Ummedganj (and Upper Primary School) 80 60 5 35
Rankyakhedi (and Primary School) 50 65 1 0
Simliya Senior Secondary School 200 26 50
Raipura Emmanuel School and Orphanage 100 3 0
Amalsara Upper Primary School 40 2 30
Lakhava (and Primary School) 40 40 2 25
Mawasa Upper Primary School 55 4 30
Zetiya 30
Amalsara 50
Janakpur 50
Total 300 560 43 170
454 J. Kaur et al.
ª 2008 Fauna & Flora International, Oryx, 42(3), 452–455
contributions. Following suggestions from national and
local NGOs these enthusiasts were honoured with certificates
and a bird identification book in the local language
from the Indian Bird Conservation Network, Bombay
Natural History Society, and the Indian Cranes and Wetlands
Working Group. Local and national media highlighted
the efforts of these volunteers (Anon., 2005;
Phatarphekar, 2006), and journalists were taken to the
breeding areas to learn about the work and meet the
villagers whose efforts were helping to conserve the crane.
The stories in the media motivated more people to come
forward to provide information on sarus cranes from other
sites.
Education is a vital part of any attempt to enforce legal
protection for the sarus crane (Davis, 1998), and for the
long-term conservation of the species outside protected
areas more community protection groups and education
and awareness programmes will be required in other
breeding areas. Development of an active network of
farmers, village communities and NGOs will facilitate
improved conservation of the species. Our experience with
this project demonstrated that it is possible to re-establish
a bond between farmers and nature, and work on community
involvement for the sarus crane is continuing, with the
involvement of more districts in Rajasthan.
