Reserve in China's Yunnan sees record-high number of wintering rare cranes

KUNMING -- A new record-high number of black-necked cranes, a species under first-class state protection in China, have been spotted in a national nature reserve in Southwest China's Yunnan province during the wintering period.

As of 8 am Sunday, a total of 2,260 migratory black-necked cranes have been monitored by the Yunnan Dashanbao National Nature Reserve for Black-necked Cranes, the highest number since the reserve was established in 1990, said the reserve's administration bureau.

The rare cranes began their wintering at the reserve around Oct. 31 this year. Last year, the total number of overwintering black-necked cranes in the Dashanbao nature reserve reached 1,926, said Wu Taiping, an engineer with the reserve's administration bureau.

The reserve, located in the Zhaoyang district of Zhaotong city, is the most significant wintering habitat and transfer station for migratory black-necked cranes on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. It also boasts China's largest quantity distribution per unit area of the species.

Over recent years, the reserve has made a determined effort to implement conservation measures, such as wetland protection and restoration, and the construction of food source bases, in order to steadily improve its ecological environment for migratory birds.

During the past three years, an average of over 1,500 black-necked cranes were spotted arriving at the reserve for wintering, while the numbers of other migratory birds were also on the rise thanks to these local conservation efforts.