Trang chủAround 11:00 AM on April 19, 2025, six red-crowned cranes were brought into the specialized conservation area of Tram Chim National Park (Dong Thap province) for continued care after being quarantined according to wildlife quarantine regulations at the Saigon Zoo.
Red-crowned cranes in their natural habitat at Tram Chim National Park. Photo: Nguyen Van Hung.
The red-crowned cranes (approximately 7 months old) were bred at Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo (Thailand) and transported to Vietnam by air, including 3 males and 3 females, on April 10, 2025. Upon arrival at Tram Chim, the cranes will continue to be cared for by national park staff who have completed training in Thailand. In terms of infrastructure, Tram Chim has built enclosures for young cranes, paired enclosures, rescue enclosures, a medicine room, a food storage facility, and a monitoring system.
The transfer and acceptance of cranes from Thailand to Vietnam is the first important milestone in the cooperation program between the two countries on the conservation of the red-crowned crane. This is also part of the crane conservation project planned by Dong Thap province nearly two years ago. The project, implemented at Tram Chim National Park, aims to raise and release 100 cranes within 10 years, including 60 transferred from Thailand, with the expectation that 50% of these will survive and self-replicate in the wild.
According to Mr. Nguyen Hoai Bao, Deputy Director of the Wetland Research Center, University of Science, Ho Chi Minh City, and an expert accompanying the project, this is the ideal time to bring the cranes back because the Tram Chim ecosystem is recovering very well. In addition, local residents around the sanctuary have raised their awareness of environmental protection and the future preservation of the crane population. Besides breeding and research on reproduction, it is also necessary to improve and restore the ecosystem and habitat of the cranes, build a sustainable ecological agricultural production model (rice), and effectively combine ensuring livelihoods for the people with the environment surrounding the crane sanctuary.
Previously, in mid-March 2025, the Phu My Species and Habitat Conservation Area (Giang Thanh district, Kien Giang province) recorded the return of many flocks of red-crowned cranes, the largest being a flock of 23 birds. The appearance of the cranes is a positive sign, indicating that the habitat of the red-crowned cranes is gradually stabilizing.