Cranes returned to Ireland after 300 years

Cranes returned to Ireland after 300 years
Cranes returned to Ireland after 300 years
Anonim

The giant bird, which was a part of Irish folklore and was often kept as a pet in medieval times, may return to the island after more than 300 years of absence.

A pair of cranes nests in a flooded peat bog in central Ireland. It is hoped that they may become the first of this species to breed in Ireland for centuries. The cranes are on land owned by the former peat company Bord na Móna. In order to protect the birds, their whereabouts are not disclosed.

In January, Bord na Móna stopped peat extraction for good and rehabilitated thousands of hectares of swamps, re-wetting drained areas. The company's lead ecologist, Mark McCorrie, said the return of the breeding pair of cranes is very important.

“Although these birds come to Ireland in winter, we usually did not see them during the breeding season,” he said.

Therefore, when they were discovered last year, it was the first pair to be in the nest during the breeding season. So this is a really good sign that they seem to be ready to repopulate Ireland. It is a very iconic species in Ireland, it is also associated with folklore - there are many stories around it."

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