The Wattled Crane certainly has much to wattle on about...

Classified as “critically endangered” by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), the Wattled Crane's single largest population occur's in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. Destruction, alteration and degradation of wetland habitats are the most significant threat to these endangered cranes. Human and livestock disturbance, power line collisions, mass aerial spraying for tsetse flies and illegal collection of eggs, chicks and adults for food, are also significant threats to Wattled Cranes.

These cranes are the largest in the family of cranes found in Africa. The total population of Wattled Cranes now stands at approximately 7700 in Africa, found across 9 countries. These birds are highly dependent on wetlands as they feed, breed and roost in this environment. Wattled Cranes are also highly territorial and once a pair has chosen a breeding site they will remain there for the rest of the year.

Two projects that aim to protect the remaining Wattled Crane population in Africa:

EWT – African Crane Conservation Programme - http://www.ewt.org.za/WHATWEDO/OurProgrammes/AfricanCraneConservationProgramme.aspx

International Crane Foundation - http://www.savingcranes.org/wattled-crane.html

BirdLife Botswana - www.birdlifebotswana.org.bw

Here at Dibatana Research and Monitoring Camp we record each and every sighting of the Wattled Cranes. We record the location they were seen, how many there were, what habitat they were in and what they were doing. We send this information off to BirdLife Botswana who uses it to keep track of numbers of these critically endangered cranes in Botswana. They are most commonly found down by the floodplains, which is where we saw these cranes featured in the photos, but can also be found at some of the inland pans during the wet season.

If you want to make a difference and help one of Africa’s many declining species…get involved!