ConservationISTs are concerned that two bird species in the country, the Grauer’s Swamp Warbler and the Grey Crowned Crane, are increasingly becoming endangered due to marshland degradation and domestication for the latter.

While Swamp Warbler are slowly multiplying due to efforts to restore marshlands, Grey Crowned Cranes’ hope of breeding and increasing in population is being hampered by human interests in domestication of the gracious birds, conservations say.

Last week, 30 Grey Crested Cranes were rescued from homes around Kigali and reintroduced to marshland in Akagera National Park.

The joint operation was conducted by International Crane Foundation/Endangered Wildlife Partnership, Kitabi College of Education and Environmental Management (KCCEM) and Rwanda Wildlife Conservation Association (RWCA).

The latter is headed by Olivier Nsengimana, a veterinarian who won a $25,000 grant at the National Geographic Society/Buffer Awards in Washington DC for Leadership in Conservation last June.

"Cranes naturally live in wetlands; that is where they breed, feed and thrive from. Domesticating them doesn’t help at all. Most of the people who take them end up removing their wings so that they don’t fly again,” Nsengimana told Saturday Times.

"Besides, they cannot lay eggs because of lack of opposite companion. That is why we have taken it upon ourselves to search for these endangered bird species from homes and reintroduce them back into their natural habitat.”

The Cranes are picked from homesteads, taken for a two-month quarantine at the Presidential Museum in Kanombe, Kicukiro District—where they are tested and monitored before they are driven to Akagera National Park marshes for reintroduction into their national habitat.

Even in the parks, conservationists would keep a close eye on the birds to study their behaviour before they are completely left to foot for their life.

Richard Muvunyi, the country coordinator of Rwanda Crane and Wetland at International Crane Foundation/ Endangered Wildlife Partnership, says one habitat, Rugezi marsh—whose water flows into two iconic twin lakes, Burera and Ruhondo—has been encroachment for human activity and, as a result, the Cranes population has significantly reduced.

"Rugezi Marsh is a threatened ecosystem. The wetland and the unique animals are threatened by various illegal activities. Hunting for food, capture of Grey Crowned Crane chicks for domestication and trade, overgrazing, uncontrolled fires and overharvesting of plants are some of the threats,” Muvunyi told Saturday Times.

He added that local communities have converted the "greater part” of the wetland’s catchment into agricultural fields, leaving little space for the Cranes to live and thrive.

Reintroducing Cranes back wildlife

About 130 Grey Crowned Cranes have been rescued from homes and reintroduced back into their natural habitat, mainly to Akagera Park, since 2015.

Muvunyi said that to ensure such birds are conserved, their natural habitat such as Rugezi Marsh must be protected.

"Conservation action is required not just to maintain the wetland’s biodiversity but to prevent degradation of its catchment,” he added.

Muvunyi said community-led efforts in awareness and conservation will go a long way in ensuring the safety of marshes as well as their inhabitants.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw