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Common Crane in Ireland
Source : Indian Express

GS III : Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment


Why in News ?

Common crane returns to Ireland after more than 3 centuries. 

Key Facts

  • Three centuries after it disappeared from Ireland the common crane has returned to the island nation.
  • A bird that is part of its folklore and was a popular pet during medieval times.
  • In Common Culture : A bird that is part of its folklore and was a popular pet during medieval times.
  • A pair of cranes was spotted last year on a restored Peat Bog a type of wetland that is mostly found in northern latitude countries.
  • The birds are in Ireland’s Midlands region but their exact location has been kept secret to protect them.
  • The common crane is typically seen in Ireland during the winter but is not sighted during the breeding season.
  • Last year was the first time in over 300 years that they were spotted nesting in Ireland during this period.
  • These Cranes stand at 4 feet tall with a wingspan of over 7 feet, and used to be the largest birds in Ireland.
  • It is also being suggested that the common crane is reestablishing its presence in Ireland.

About Cranes

  • The common crane is typically seen in Ireland during the winter, but is not sighted during the breeding season.
  • Last year was the first time in over 300 years that they were spotted nesting in Ireland during this period.
  • They were once common, the destruction of their habitat saw them disappear around the 16th and 17th century.

Bog Restoration

  • Bogs also called quagmires.
  • They are soft spongy wetlands that accumulate peat– a fossil fuel that is used for heating homes and businesses in northern Europe.
  • They are formed in northern climates, and take thousands of years to develop.
  • Bogs also act as carbon sinks, sequestering around 200 million tons of carbon from the environment in Siberia and Scandinavia.
  • Efforts are now underway around the world to restore these Bogs wetlands by reintroducing bog plants.
  • If bogs in Ireland recover, experts say, there is a chance that cranes too would re-colonise them.

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