Ecobreves – CUBA: Cranes at Center of Study

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

HAVANA, Jan 12 2004 (IPS) - Cuban scientists this year will study potential reproduction sites of the Cuban crane (Grus canadiensis nesiotes), considered endangered due to changes in its natural habitat. The project is to be carried out in the north of Ciego de Avila province, 415 km from Havana, where the principal population of this subspecies of the Sandhill crane (Grus canadiensis) is found.

Experts say that economic development throughout the 20th century brought changes that in some cases favored the bird's food supply, but reduced the natural savannahs where it nests.

The Cuban crane builds its nest on the ground and lays one or two eggs. Recent counts in Ciego de Avila found 30 to 40 of these birds that stand more than a meter tall.