Arif's sarus not to be released in sanctuary

The sarus that befriended Arif, who had nursed the bird back to health after an injury, will not be released in any sanctuary.

K.K. Singh, chief conservator of forests, Kanpur-where the sarus is presently kept -- has ruled out any plan to release the bird in a sanctuary.

The bird has been found to be a female and the zoo sees it a lucky discovery because the female population of this bird is scant in this part of the country.

The bird that is not eating properly since it was brought to the zoo on March 29 last, will be paired with a male bird, said Singh.

He added, "Tests confirm that the bird is female and is now being shifted to an enclosure next to a male Sarus. It is being done so they can become used to each other. This is our first step. Their behaviour will be monitored for two weeks, then it will be decided whether to move the male into her enclosure."

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Dr Rajat Bhargava, an ornithologist with the Bombay Natural History Society, had taken a feather from the bird's chest on April 16 and had sent it to Secunderabad for DNA testing to determine its gender.

The unique friendship of the Sarus and Arif, a resident of Mandkha village in Amethi district, who had last year rescued the bird, has been making waves on social media.

The Sarus was found by Arif in February 2022, injured in his fields, lying unconscious with a bleeding leg. He initially thought the sarus was dead but took it home when he realised that it was still breathing. He cleaned the wound and applied a mix of turmeric and mustard on it. Then he devised a splint out of bamboo to keep the leg stable.

But the crane refused to fly away even after it had recovered.

Videos of Arif and the Sarus that went viral, showed the bird following him everywhere. Even when Arif rode his bike, the bird flew above following him.

The forest department, meanwhile, took the Sarus to Samaspur Bird Sanctuary on March 21 from where it disappeared and was found again.

The Sarus was finally sent to the Kanpur zoo on March 29 and a case was lodged against Arif for violating sections 2, 9, 29, 51, 52 of the Wildlife Act, 1972.

Forest officials said Arif's house was not the right place for a Sarus to live in and he should have informed the local forest officials on finding the bird.

Meanwhile, the bird not eating properly remains a worry for the zoo administration. Officials said the bird's eating habit has changed drastically living in close quarters with humans. "We are working on this; hopefully the bird will start taking the raw diet normally," they said.