Gray Crowned Cranes are important “indicator species” that reflect the ecological quality of locations they are found (photo by Paul Konrad).

At 38 years of age, 3 banded Gray Crowned Cranes are the oldest known wild cranes in the world. In fact, 1 of the 3 banded cranes, a female, was sighted in February with 2 downy 2-week-old hatchlings! Banded in 1986 in the highlands of Kenya adjacent to Lake Ol’ Bolossat (north of Nairobi), these cranes were not expected to live much more than 20 years at the most in the wild, but considering that no previous information was available, this revelation is part of the new information being produced by studying banded cranes.

Many aspects of a species’ natural history can be studied when individuals can be identified by banding, such as dispersal, range, the age they pair, a pair’s age when nesting the first time, nesting territory fidelity, the longevity of pair bonds, and the longevity of individual birds. More recently, 70 more pre-fledging Gray Crowned Cranes were banded from 2018 to 2020 to learn more about the species in this region of Kenya, and about the species as a whole.

Recent detailed ecological research in the Lake Ol’ Bolossat basin showed the Gray Crowned Crane population there may be the largest in Kenya, considering the number and density of territorial and nesting crane pairs. It also shows that the wetland, associated grasslands, and surrounding agricultural fields are critical to the species’ survival in East Africa.

To find out more about the research being conducted to learn more about Gray Crowned Cranes in Kenya, refer to an article written by Wanyoike Wamiti and George Ndung’u, published by the International Crane Foundation at Kenya’s oldest known wild Grey Crowned Crane - International Crane Foundation (savingcranes.org)