Putin’s last crane returning to Russia

ASTANA. Nov 21 (Interfax) – A Siberian white crane from the project backed by President Vladimir Putin has been sent from Borovoye in the Kazakh northern Akmola region to Russia, the Kazakh Agriculture Ministry reported on Wednesday.

Russian ornithologists will bring the crane back home.

“An Akmola regional forestry and hunting inspection officer kept the crane at his Borovoye home until recently,” the report said.

The crane with a ring on its leg was found in the yard of a private home in Derzhavinsk, a town in the Akmola region, on October 7. It was identified as the Siberian white crane set free from the Russian Oksky nature reserve under the Flight of Hope project.

The experiment, in which Putin took part, started in the crane reserve of the Oksky state biosphere reserve in spring. Birds raised in the nature reserve were not accustomed to men. Specialists dressed in white overalls took care of the birds. Besides, they were trained not to fear the paraglider sound with recordings. Nestlings raised in the artificial environment cannot fly south on their own because there are not adult birds to show them the way.

When the birds were trained and prepared for their maiden flight, they were moved to Yamal, which is in the direct proximity to natural habitats of such cranes. Flights, in one of which Putin took part, were the first stage of their flight from the Polar Circle to the Belozersky nature reserve in the Tyumen region.

Putin flew with six birds, Flight of Hope project supervisor Alexander Sorokin told Interfax. Later on the birds flew south following deltas and reached the Kazakh border. Scientists encouraged the birds to join a gray crane flock but they stayed together only for one week instead of the necessary three. Snow fell and the wild cranes flew south. The Siberian white cranes stayed. Only one white crane followed the flock, which was attacked by stray dogs in Kazakhstan later.

People saved the crane and brought it to their home. “The Kazakh Forestry Committee chairman learned about that and realized intuitively which crane it was,” Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said.

Kazakh ornithologists got in touch with Russian colleagues, and they recognized the crane on the photograph.

The cranes will be transported to Kazakhstan by plane before they can head south, the project supervisor said.

“Media claims that the cranes failed to fly south because of Putin are just laughable. There is no such connection; the reports do not hold water. They must be bloggers’ jokes,” Sorokin said.