KAMPALA, UGANDA — The Crested Crane, with its regal golden crown, vibrant red throat pouch, and slender black legs, is an iconic symbol of Uganda. It graces the nation’s flag and coat of arms, and all Ugandan national sports teams proudly bear its name. However, this beloved bird is facing a critical decline, raising concerns about its potential extinction.
For centuries, the Crested Crane held significant cultural importance in Uganda, particularly among the Baganda people. It was revered as a symbol of wealth, good fortune, and longevity.
Superstitions further protected the bird, with the belief that harming a crane would bring misfortune upon the offender, such as a mournful vigil by other cranes that could drive the individual to madness or even death.
Despite these cultural and legal protections – which include a severe penalty of life imprisonment and a hefty fine for killing a crested crane – the bird’s population continues to dwindle.
Habitat loss due to agriculture, infrastructure development, and human encroachment are major threats. Illegal hunting and the illegal wildlife trade also pose significant risks.
Conservation efforts are crucial to prevent the extinction of this national treasure. These efforts should focus on habitat restoration, community engagement, and stricter enforcement of wildlife protection laws.
By raising awareness about the plight of the crested crane and promoting sustainable development practices, Uganda can ensure that this magnificent bird continues to grace its skies for generations to come.
“Such stories instilled fear, and cranes would be respected and revered and not killed,” Jimmy Muheebwa, a senior conservationist at Nature Uganda, a local non-governmental organisation (NGO), told Vivid Voice News.
Despite the legal protections in place, awareness of the ban on killing crested cranes appears to be limited among farmers in western Uganda, where these birds are most commonly found. Traditional fears surrounding harming the cranes seem to have diminished over time.
“I really don’t see any value in these birds because all they do is raid our plantations and eat our crops. We are worried about food security in this area,” Tom Mucunguzi, a maize farmer from a village near Mbarara city in Western Region, told our reporter.
Another farmer near Mbarara, Fausita Aritua, agreed, saying when she goes to her maize plot she spends the whole day chasing away the cranes – and if she cannot get there, she tries to get someone else to stand guard.
“We no longer harvest as much as we used to do because these birds eat everything,” she said.
The grey-crowned crane, also known as the crowned crane, is a resident species found across eastern and southern Africa, including Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
While they do not undertake long-distance migrations, they exhibit local movements in response to variations in food availability, suitable nesting sites, and weather conditions.
These majestic birds, standing at approximately 1 meter (3.2 feet) tall, primarily inhabit wetland ecosystems such as riverbanks, areas surrounding dams, and open grasslands.
Within these habitats, they breed and forage for a diverse diet consisting of grass seeds, small amphibians (toads and frogs), insects, and other invertebrates.
However, the increasing human population and the growing demand for agricultural land are exerting significant pressure on these vital wetland habitats.
As farmers expand their cultivation into these areas, the available space for grey-crowned cranes to thrive diminishes, posing a serious threat to their long-term survival.
“In eastern Africa, the population has declined terribly by over 80% in the last 25 years,” Adalbert Ainomucunguzi, who leads the International Crane Foundation (ICF) in East Africa said.
In the 1970s, Uganda boasted a population of over 100,000 crested cranes. However, according to Nature Uganda, this number has plummeted to a mere 10,000 today, representing a staggering 90% decline.
This alarming trend led the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to designate the crested crane as an endangered bird species in 2012, underscoring the urgent need for conservation efforts to prevent its extinction.
“Despite its serenity, beauty and popularity, the bird is facing a serious threat. It means that if no urgent measures are taken to reverse this trend, we might see the cranes pushed to extinction,” Dan Sseruge, a Ugandan ornithologist said.
Our observations around Mbarara revealed that the cranes were elusive, typically observed only during the early morning hours shortly after dawn. Conservationists report that these birds were once far more abundant in the Mbarara region.
Tragically, in recent years, numerous cases of crested crane deaths have been documented in Lwengo district, south-central Uganda. These incidents often involve the intentional poisoning of the birds by rice and maize farmers, highlighting the ongoing challenges faced by conservation efforts.
“One of the biggest threats against cranes is poisoning by the farmers. This is because the birds are causing a lot of crop damage,” Gilbert Tayebwa, a conservation officer at ICF said.
Mr Tayebwa said he has been engaging farmers to use different deterrent methods like scarecrows to protect their crops from invading cranes.
Farmers like Philip Ntare, from Lwengo, said the cranes were sometimes mistakenly poisoned after eating crops sprayed with agro-chemicals and other pesticides.
“I just chase them, because I grew up knowing the crested crane is not supposed to be killed. But government should consider compensating farmers for crop damage,” he said.
However, John Makombo, director of conservation at the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), said this was not possible.
“It is one of those precious species that have freedom to go anywhere and so unfortunately the government is not liable for any damage done by the cranes,” he told Vivid Voice News.
Sarah Kugonza, an ICF conservationist, emphasized that the threats facing crested cranes extend beyond human-wildlife conflict. The degradation of wetland habitats leaves their chicks more vulnerable to predation, particularly from eagles.
As wetland ecosystems continue to shrink, crested cranes are increasingly confined to a hostile environment where their survival is constantly threatened.
“Sometimes breeding areas are flooded and nowadays some cranes are killed by electricity lines when flying,” Ms Kugonza said.
The exceptional beauty of the crested crane has unfortunately made them targets for the illegal pet trade. Mr. Ainomucunguzi noted that the demand for these birds as exotic pets is a significant threat to their survival.
However, captive breeding of crested cranes has proven to be extremely challenging. These birds are renowned for their strong pair bonds and rarely reproduce successfully in captivity, further complicating conservation efforts.
“It is a highly monogamous bird as it pairs once, for life. This means that if one of them is killed or domesticated, the likelihood of finding a new mating partner is almost zero,” said Mr Muheebwa.
These birds use an elaborate courtship display to attract a mate, which includes dancing, bowing, and jumping. They are often spotted moving in pairs or small family groups. Once a pair forms a bond, they establish their own territory and fiercely defend it from intruders.
Scientifically known as Balearica regulorum gibbericeps, these cranes have distinct nesting behaviors. They typically return to the same breeding site each year, laying between two and five eggs. Both the male and female take turns incubating the eggs, a process that lasts between 28 and 31 days.
Any disturbance to their nesting grounds can disrupt their breeding cycle, posing a threat to their population.
Additionally, their lifelong monogamy has drawn the attention of some traditional healers, who believe that certain body parts of the crested crane can promote faithfulness in relationships or bring good fortune.
“Some people have been caught hunting cranes to take some of their body parts to witch doctors in a belief that they will get rich. Or, if you are a woman, your husband will never leave you,” Mr Tayebwa from ICF said.
Conservationists are actively working to combat these threats while also raising awareness about the legal protections in place for crested cranes. To help reverse their declining population, the Ugandan government and environmental groups are mobilizing local communities to restore degraded wetlands.
President Yoweri Museveni, who hails from the Western Region, has been vocal about the need to protect wetland areas. According to local media reports, he has urged encroachers to vacate these critical habitats and has declared 2025 the year of wetland conservation.
The International Crane Foundation (ICF) has also taken action by appointing custodians to monitor breeding sites and safeguard the cranes’ nesting grounds.
According to Nature Uganda’s Mr. Muheebwa, these combined efforts have begun to slow the decline, but the population of crested cranes remains critically low.
For Mr. Makombo of the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), future conservation efforts will focus on strict enforcement of environmental laws to set a precedent for wetland protection.
“We shall arrest and prosecute those who are poisoning the cranes,” he said.
