The population of rare Demoiselle cranes faces a catastrophic decline due to the actions of Saudi Arabian hunters who are mass-killing the birds during their seasonal southward migration. This alarming trend is revealed by the findings of Russian ornithologists, according to the Telegram channel Mash.
Having studied the nesting sites of these graceful birds in the Volgograd, Saratov, and Astrakhan regions, specialists have documented a shocking decrease in numbers. While around 40,000 cranes inhabited these areas in the early 1990s, only about 3,000 remained by the autumn of last year.
The reasons for this drastic decline were discovered in the Middle East. It turns out that Saudi hunters employ a cunning tactic to lure the unsuspecting cranes. They use recordings of the birds' mating calls and spread blue cloths on the ground, which from a distance resemble bodies of water. Once the cranes land, they are ruthlessly shot, and the hunters subsequently boast about their trophies on social media.
Anton Abushin, an employee of the "Black Lands" nature reserve, conducted a 12-year study, analyzing approximately 40,000 posts across 46 Middle Eastern hunters' accounts. His scientific work demonstrated that at least a hundred endangered cranes perish annually, with over 1,200 individuals eliminated throughout the study period.
Particularly concerning is the activity of 12 of the most prolific hunters, each responsible for the deaths of over 50 cranes. Collectively, they have killed 1,265 Demoiselle cranes and 188 Common cranes, representing a staggering 85% of the total number of victims documented in the study.
Thanks to Anton Abushin's efforts, the issue of poaching has gained publicity, and Saudi Arabian authorities have intensified the work of their environmental police, which had previously been largely ineffective. Some hunters have been tracked down and apprehended based on their social media activity.
This situation exposes the critical problem of illegal hunting of rare migratory birds and underscores the urgent need for international measures to protect vulnerable species.
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