{"id":409447,"date":"2025-05-22T12:34:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T06:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radionepalonline.com\/en\/?p=409447"},"modified":"2025-05-22T12:34:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T06:49:09","slug":"sarus-crane-population-declining-in-kanchanpur-and-kailali-amid-habitat-loss-and-chemical-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radionepalonline.com\/en\/2025\/05\/22\/409447.html","title":{"rendered":"Sarus Crane population declining in Kanchanpur and Kailali amid habitat loss and chemical use"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

May 22, Kathmandu: <\/span><\/strong>The <\/span>Sarus <\/span>crane, <\/span>a <\/span>majestic <\/span>bird <\/span>once <\/span>commonly <\/span>sighted <\/span>in <\/span>the <\/span>wetlands <\/span>of <\/span>Kanchanpur <\/span>and <\/span>Kailali, <\/span>is <\/span>facing <\/span>a <\/span>steep population decline<\/span>, <\/span>with <\/span>numbers <\/span>dropping <\/span>by <\/span>approximately <\/span>20% <\/span>over <\/span>the <\/span>past <\/span>decade <\/span>in <\/span>these <\/span>regions, <\/span>according <\/span>to <\/span>the <\/span>Nepal <\/span>Bird <\/span>Conservation <\/span>Society <\/span>(NBCS). <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>destruction <\/span>of <\/span>wetlands <\/span>for <\/span>agriculture, <\/span>coupled <\/span>with <\/span>increased <\/span>use <\/span>of <\/span>chemical <\/span>fertilisers <\/span>and <\/span>pesticides, <\/span>has <\/span>significantly <\/span>reduced <\/span>the <\/span>cranes\u2019 <\/span>habitat <\/span>and <\/span>food <\/span>sources, <\/span>pushing <\/span>this <\/span>vulnerable <\/span>species <\/span>toward <\/span>an <\/span>existential <\/span>crisis.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Hirulal <\/span>Dagaura, <\/span>an <\/span>ornithologist <\/span>with <\/span>NBCS, <\/span>reports <\/span>that <\/span>only <\/span>5 <\/span>Sarus <\/span>cranes <\/span>were <\/span>recorded <\/span>in <\/span>Kailali <\/span>and <\/span>22 <\/span>in <\/span>Kanchanpur <\/span>during <\/span>the <\/span>2024 <\/span>annual <\/span>survey, <\/span>down <\/span>from <\/span>10 <\/span>and <\/span>35, <\/span>respectively, <\/span>a <\/span>decade <\/span>ago. <\/span>\u201cThe <\/span>loss <\/span>of <\/span>wetlands <\/span>to <\/span>farmland <\/span>and <\/span>the <\/span>heavy <\/span>reliance <\/span>on <\/span>chemical <\/span>pesticides <\/span>are <\/span>starving <\/span>these <\/span>birds <\/span>and <\/span>destroying <\/span>their <\/span>breeding <\/span>grounds,\u201d <\/span>Dagaura <\/span>explained. <\/span>Additional <\/span>threats <\/span>include <\/span>illegal <\/span>hunting, <\/span>egg <\/span>stealing, <\/span>climate <\/span>change, <\/span>and <\/span>environmental <\/span>pollution.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>Sarus <\/span>crane, <\/span>listed <\/span>as <\/span>\u201cvulnerable\u201d <\/span>by <\/span>the <\/span>International <\/span>Union <\/span>for <\/span>Conservation <\/span>of <\/span>Nature <\/span>(IUCN) <\/span>and <\/span>protected <\/span>under <\/span>Nepal\u2019s <\/span>National <\/span>Park <\/span>and <\/span>Wildlife <\/span>Conservation <\/span>Act <\/span>2029, <\/span>is <\/span>a <\/span>vital <\/span>ally <\/span>for <\/span>farmers. <\/span>By <\/span>feeding <\/span>on <\/span>insects <\/span>harmful <\/span>to <\/span>crops, <\/span>such <\/span>as <\/span>locusts <\/span>and <\/span>beetles, <\/span>the <\/span>cranes <\/span>naturally <\/span>reduce <\/span>pest <\/span>infestations, <\/span>potentially <\/span>boosting <\/span>agricultural <\/span>yields. <\/span>However, <\/span>their <\/span>dwindling <\/span>numbers <\/span>threaten <\/span>this <\/span>ecological <\/span>balance.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

May 22, Kathmandu: The Sarus crane, a majestic bird once commonly sighted in the wetlands of Kanchanpur and Kailali, is facing a steep population decline, with numbers dropping by approximately 20% over the past decade in these regions, according to the Nepal Bird Conservation Society (NBCS). The destruction of wetlands for agriculture, coupled with increased …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":409448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75,8,3,6,4,5],"tags":[],"reporter":[],"class_list":["post-409447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-administration","category-en-cover","category-english","category-en-featured","category-en-news","category-top-stories"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radionepalonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409447"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radionepalonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radionepalonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radionepalonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radionepalonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409447"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radionepalonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":409449,"href":"https:\/\/radionepalonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409447\/revisions\/409449"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radionepalonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radionepalonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radionepalonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radionepalonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409447"},{"taxonomy":"reporter","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radionepalonline.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reporter?post=409447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}