African Cranes Threatened by Illegal trade and Capture
25/04/2008 13:54:54
Four species of cranes are resident in Africa - Grey Crowned Crane, Black Crowned Crane, Wattled Crane and Blue Crane.
West African Black Crowned Crane
Over the past forty years, the West African Black Crowned Crane has declined from perhaps more than 100,000 to fewer than 15,000 birds and fragmented into scattered, isolated populations across its range. Widespread trade in the Sudan Black Crowned Crane has also been reported. Recent investigations suggest that the capture of Black Crowned Cranes for domestication and trade may pose the most significant threat to the species. Market trading is resulting in the extirpation of the species from Mali, where there are currently more cranes in captivity than in the wild. In Nigeria, where Black Crowned Cranes were nearly extirpated due to trade; there is still a market for live birds and body parts.
Grey Crowned Crane
In East Africa, a similar trend may be occurring with the Grey Crowned Crane. Since 1985, the East African Grey Crowned Crane population has declined from approximately 90,000 to as few as 43,000 individuals. Grey Crowned Cranes are highly valued as ornamental birds for private collections throughout the world, and during 1992-2002 (According to CITES), at least 4,854 were officially exported from Tanzania, with untold higher numbers killed in capture or transit, or exported illegally. Over a two year period, 2003 and 2004, 41 Southern African Grey Crowned Cranes were confiscated from people in South Africa who had removed birds illegally from the wild for the illegal trade market, food or pets. This is most probably a fraction of the reality of the situation. With only around 3,000 birds in South Africa, this annual removal is unsustainable.
Wattled Crane
Capture for trade of the Vulnerable Wattled Crane (global population <7700) is reported from Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia. In Tanzania (estimated population <200 individuals) at least 47 Wattled Cranes were exported between 1999 and 2002 (CITES database). Vulnerable Blue Cranes may also be adversely affected by trade.
The African Crane Trade Project
The African Crane Trade Project was initiated under African Cranes, Wetlands and Communities, a partnership between the International Crane Foundation and Endangered Wildlife Trust in 2006. The Project aims to better understand the African crane trade and to develop measures to minimise its impact on wild populations. Trade has been defined broadly in this project as the movement of cranes between captive facilities, and removal from the wild for any reason, usually with some form of financial or barter transaction, and includes live or dead cranes or their parts.
Click here to read more about the African Crane Trade Project and the full report.
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