Farmer Indian establishes an extraordinary relationship with the crane Antigone, large in size bird wild. Now, the man who has become a social media star is calling on wildlife authorities to release his furry “friends”, who they captured and confined in cages. zoo. After six weeks of careful care by Mohammad Arif, the bird that recovered from its injury was released into the wild by its benefactor.
But despite all odds, the stork remained near his home in Amethi, in the state of Uttar Pradesh and followed the good Samaritan on a cycling trip. “The bird stays with its family during the day and returns at night. “Or in the afternoon, if he's hungry, he comes and waits at our door,” said Mohammad Arif, this Thursday. The bird even ate fruit from his hands, he said.
Vulnerable species
The Antigone crane, with its scarlet neck, is the largest flying bird in the world. Its height can reach 1.8 m. The video of the bird along with its protector testifying to their extraordinary relationship went viral on social networks and soon the account Instagram by Mohammad Arif has gained almost 300,000 subscribers.
But in late March, wildlife authorities abruptly ended the unusual relationship and captured the bird and placed it in quarantine, planning to release it to a wild bird sanctuary. Living in wetlands, the Antigone crane is classified as a vulnerable species on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) red list. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, the number of individuals remaining in India is less than 20,000. Currently, the majestic stork is in a small cage at a zoo in Kanpur, more than four hours away from Mohammad Arif, who is urging authorities to release his “friend”.
“As soon as they let him go, he will come back to me”
On Tuesday, he finally paid a visit to the bird who didn't hide his excitement, with flapping wings and big jumps, during which their reunion was filmed and posted online. “The bird immediately recognized my voice. He turned around, looked at me, he really wanted to come to see me, said Mohammad Arif. To me, he seemed in distress, perhaps he was expecting me to get him out of jail. »
More than 3,000 people have signed an online petition calling for the bird's release. “The crane did not commit any crime. Is making friends with humans a crime? Why punish birds for no reason?”, we can read the text accompanying the petition. Meanwhile, Mohammad Arif is confident: “As soon as they release him, he will come back to me. »
