Protecting Wetlands 2

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In late April 2008, when our reporters were interviewing in the Jilin Province, they heard that there were more than 2,000 Siberian cranes staying at a local nature reserve, Momoge Nature Reserve.

But in the world, there are less than 3,000 Siberian cranes in total. They were very excited to hear of this and drove out there early the next morning. The Siberian cranes must have spent the winter at Poyang Lake in south China and intended to fly back to Siberia for breeding. In the trip, they stopped at Momoge to rest and eat some food to gain strength for the rest of the journey. But experts think that this may not be a good sign. If a large number of Siberian cranes suddenly gather on a wetland, this shows that other available wetlands may have been destroyed.

Students at Xianghai School in Tongyu County, Jilin Province are attending a nature education class. A teacher is telling them about many different factors that can kill the Siberian cranes during their 5,000-kilometer-long migratory journey.

This game will simulate the Siberian cranes’ migration. Every group of students has a certain number of corn grains that represent energy. The conditions of the Siberian cranes’ stopping places will determine whether they will gain or lose energy.

For every group, if its number of corn grains is less than the number of its members, then some of its members will die.

At this rescue station, a number of injured birds, such as common cranes and Demoiselle cranes, have been rescued and cured. They were injured because of hitting wires or fences in strong winds. This vulture once became ill in the wild because it couldn’t find food for one or two months. The right wing of this red-crowned crane suffers from a comminuted fracture. For 7 years, it always sings sadly early every morning.