Sarus crane population surges in UP: Census
Uttar Pradesh's state bird, the Sarus crane, saw a rise to 19,918 in the latest census, with a notable increase of 396 from the previous year.
Sarus crane, the state bird of Uttar Pradesh, registered a rise in number with the summer census conducted on June 20-21 this year revealing presence of 19,918 sarus cranes, an increase of 396 from the previous year count.
“Six sarus cranes were spotted in Mau for the first time in 10 years,” said a press statement from the state government. A total 10,000 citizens participated in the counting process.
The Etawah Forest Division recorded the highest number of sarus cranes with their population being 3,289. Additionally, ten forest divisions reported sarus populations exceeding 500.
The sarus crane count has shown a consistent upward trend over the years from 17,329 in 2021 to 19,188 in 2022, 19,522 in 2023, and reaching 19,918 in 2024. This year alone, the Sarus population increased by 396 compared to last year, totaling an increase of 2,589 cranes between 2021 and 2024.
Experts pointed out that UP needs more focus in this area. Prof Amita Kanaujia, department of zoology, University of Lucknow said, “Forest department conducts census only in forest area. There is need to count and conserve the bird in private land as well.”
The highest number was recorded in the Etawah Forest Division. Other divisions with notable counts include Mainpuri (2,945), Shahjahanpur (1,212), Auraiya (1,202), Kannauj (786), Hardoi (735), Sant Kabir Nagar (717), Kanpur Dehat (709), Gorakhpur (675), and Siddharth Nagar (673).
In 27 forest divisions, the number of sarus cranes was between 100 and 500. These included Raebareli with 428, Sitapur with 427, Unnao with 426, Bareilly with 348, Sohagi Barwa with 339, Lakhimpur with 306, Banda with 261, Barabanki with 257, Firozabad with 239, South Kheri with 209, Aligarh and Amethi with 194 each, Basti with 186, Gautam Buddha Nagar with 171, Mathura with 166, Bijnor Social Forestry with 143, Gonda with 142, Etah with 138, Sultanpur with 137, Bahraich with 135, Farrukhabad with 134, Kanpur Nagar with 133, National Chambal Sanctuary with 119, Badaun with 116, Fatehpur with 103, and Chitrakoot and Awadh forest divisions with 102 each.
There were 31 forest divisions where less than 100 cranes were found including 99 in Shravasti, 95 in Kasganj, 94 in Pilibhit Social Forestry, 86 in Hamirpur, 81 in Sohelwa, 80 in Ambedkar Nagar, 78 in Ayodhya, 75 in Hathras, 55 in Agra, 54 in Kaushambi and North Kheri, 53 in Pratapgarh, 51 in Meerut, 50 in Kushinagar, 44 in Bulandshahr, 42 in Moradabad, 36 in Katarniaghat, 34 in Deoria, 31 in Lalitpur, 20 in Muzaffarnagar, 18-18 in Mahoba, Prayagraj and Najibabad, 12 in Sambhal, 11-11 in Azamgarh and Jaunpur, six each in Mau and Rampur, four in Orai and two each in Hapur and Palia-Kheri.
