Cranes of Asia: Muraviovka Park
Location: Tambovski District of the Amur Region, Russia – on the border of China
Project Since: 1999
Mission:
Muraviovka Park demonstrates wetland and natural resource management that sustains rare wildlife while involving and benefitting local communities. The Park disseminates effective conservation methods through the Amur Region and beyond, linking local, regional, and international communities who share a vision for healthy co-existence of migratory waterbirds and people.
Highlights:
In 2021 the program found three pairs of red-crowned cranes in the park that fledged five chicks among them, as well as one territorial pair and one to five summering subadults. A partner using a drone counted 30 nests of the oriental stork and 51 territorial pairs of the white-naped crane – twice as many as in 2020. In the fall, the drone spotted a pre-migratory flock of 18 wild red-crowned cranes. The program has successfully raised funds to purchase a drone in early 2022; such monitoring will provide valuable data on population numbers, breeding success, and important breeding, feeding, and roosting sites that need special protection. In 2021, the captive pair of red-crowned cranes once again raised two chicks, who are now as big as their parents, and their release is expected in spring 2022.
Turtle Survival Alliance
Location: Cambodia
Project Since: 2005
Mission:
Transforming passion for turtles into conservation action.
Highlights:
In 2021 the program successfully released 61 head-started southern river terrapin into their natural habitat of Sre Ambel River System in Southwest Cambodia. Acoustic transmitters were attached to all of the turtles so the research team can study their movement, dispersal, habitat utilization, and survival rate in the wild. For the first time in 20 years, at least five captive females produced clutches at the Koh Kong Reptile Conservation Center.