Conservation of the Western White-naped Crane Population in China

media release: International Crane Foundation talk, on Zoom.

On July 13 at 7 p.m. Central Time, our Breeding and Stopover Area Program Manager Zhang Qi will present, Conservation of the Western White-naped Crane Population in China. The Western White-naped Crane Population has significantly declined over the last decade from 3,000 to less than 1,000 individuals. The species' main breeding sites in Mongolia and wintering sites at Poyang Lake, China, are relatively well protected. However, protecting stopover sites like Bohai Bay in eastern China is also very important. Due to coastal development and climate change, the Bohai Bay wetlands have been seriously degraded, reducing the available habitats for cranes and other migratory birds. In 2013, the International Crane Foundation, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Wildlife Sciences and Conservation Center of Mongolia, and Center for East Asian-Australasian Flyway Studies (CEAAF) jointly launched the White-naped Crane Satellite Tracking Project. Through this research, we found for the first time that the Shandian River Basin in Northeastern China is the most critical stopover area for the Western White-naped Crane population. More than 80 percent of cranes in the study stopped in this area. ​ In August 2022, we also discovered that the most extensive breeding area for the Western White-naped Crane population is the westernmost breeding location for Red-crowned Cranes in Xilin Gol, Inner Mongolia, China. However, there are no official protected areas in this region. As a result, the local protection base needs to be stronger, and there needs to be more understanding of the area's White-naped Crane population and habitat utilization.