Endangered East African grey-crowned crane arrives at Bristol Zoo Project!

We are excited to announce the arrival of a male Endangered East African grey-crowned crane, Balearica regulorum, at Bristol Zoo Project, who has joined our other fantastic bird species in the Walled Garden.

Photo credit: Jon Drew

One of Africa’s most majestic birds, East African grey-crowned cranes are around one metre tall and have a wingspan of two metres. Our new male weighs in at 4.3kg. Native to Sub-Saharan Africa, including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, there are estimated to be around 29,500 – 36,000 individuals left in the wild, from a high of 100,000 in 1985 but their population is continuing to decline. The major threats they face include habitat loss due to agriculture, mining, and logging, poisoning from pesticides, collisions with powerlines, as well as the illegal capture of these birds and their eggs from the wild for commercial trade.

Grey-crowned cranes are non-migratory but move seasonally and locally due to food availability and rainfall. Omnivores, they prefer to live in grasslands near water and feed on plant matter and insects such as grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets in open pastures and savannahs. In the wild, they can often be found following cattle to eat insects that have been disturbed by their passing.

The average lifespan of this bird is around 22 years old in the wild and our new arrival, who is joining us from Wingham Wildlife Park in Kent, is four years of age.

Photo credit: Jon Drew

Sheldon Wetton, Curator of Birds for Bristol Zoological Society, said: “The East African grey-crowned crane is an additional, interesting, and charismatic species for visitors to learn about in our aviaries of the Walled Garden at Bristol Zoo Project.

“There is an IUCN ex-situ mandate for grey-crowned cranes as part of their conservation actions and we are excited to be contributing to this.

“We hope to receive a female from another UK zoo very soon so the pair can become part of the EAZA European Ex-situ breeding programme to preserve this Endangered species.”

Grey-crowned cranes have endured a 75% population decline over the last forty years and can be found in Tanzania where we work on a variety of projects with other species. This Endangered species of crane is part of our new Species Plan, which is at the forefront of our transformation to become a new conservation zoo on the outskirts of Bristol.

More information about our work in Tanzania can be found here.

Birds of Bristol Zoo Project

The East African grey-crowned crane is joining seven species of birds in the Walled Garden, including Critically Endangered Bali starling, Extinct in the Wild Socorro dove, Vulnerable Mauritian pink pigeon, Endangered Visayan tarictic hornbill, and African village weaver.

Visit the birds at Bristol Zoo Project.