Eastern Common Crane spotted

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Dec 6 : In a rare sight, two pairs of Eastern Common Cranes were spotted feeding in a paddy field between Ngaikhong Khullen and Imphal Main Canal, under Bishnupur district this evening.
The crane species (scientific name : Grus Grus) of European origin which are migratory in nature during winters, were sighted by wildlife activist and secretary of Wildlife Explorers Manipur, Elangbam Premjit who also took photos of them.
Officially, it is the third time the crane species were spotted in the State and the first person to spot the bird was Elangbam Premjit himself. He spotted a lone crane of the said species when it was flying over Loukoipat on January 25, 2014.
There has been no official record of the bird's sighting before that and for the second time, 3 pairs of them were reportedly detected at Thamnapokpi, Imphal East the following year.
Sadly, two of them were shot down by poachers and the news of it took social media by storm and eventually those involved in hunting down the cranes were booked by Forest Department and eventually tried.