Red Crowned Crane

[tonini3059]

I remember seeing a pair of these at the national aviary in Pittsburgh when I was in college and after reading about chickenzoo's crowned crane it got me thinking about these beautiful birds again. Anyway, can you actually get them? I really do not plan on buying them, at least not for many years, so price is of no consequence but I was just curious if they are actually available. I would assume that CITES permits would be necessary since they are so rare, but any info would be appreciated.

 

[Dr. Todd]

Red-crowned cranes (Japanese cranes) are not available to anyone but AZA zoos. They are for sale in Europe but the logistics and cost of importing them would be daunting.

Dr. Todd

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

east african and west african crown, and the demoiselle are the only crane species I know of available to aviculturist in the States

 

[Dr. Todd]

You missed a few:
White-naped, sarus, stanley (blue), sandhill and the occasional wattled and black-necked.

You need to know where to look. There's a bigger world than just BYC...

Dr. Todd

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

Dr. Todd :

You missed a few:
White-naped, sarus, stanley (blue), sandhill and the occasional wattled and black-necked.

You need to know where to look. There's a bigger world than just BYC...

Dr. Todd

Really, a world outside of BYC,, wonderful...
By the way, how many of these are for sale on a basis outside of zoos , not enough to bother mentioning.... I've seen one person many years agao selling 1 pr of Sarus in the Gazette, aside from that, none...​

 

[Dr. Todd]

Just as there is a circle of folks on BYC who keep domestic poultry, there is a big circle of folks out there keeping wild waterfowl, many of which are also keeping cranes. Lots of the rare bird breeders don't advertise what they have as they fear theft, but there's a lot more out there than one might first think. Cranes of any species are not for beginners though and of all of them demoiselle are probably the best bet as a start into the crane world. Small enough to be manageable, too small to seriously hurt you and completely winter hardy.

Dr. Todd

 

[spectrumranch]

Quote:
Really, a world outside of BYC,, wonderful...
By the way, how many of these are for sale on a basis outside of zoos , not enough to bother mentioning.... I've seen one person many years agao selling 1 pr of Sarus in the Gazette, aside from that, none...

Yes you can find them for sale, most people that have them do not need to advertise them for sale.

 

[Dr. Todd]

Thanks Randy, you're right. The demand usually far outpaces the breeding results.

Dr. Todd

 

[tonini3059]

I do not intend to seem daft, but is the general consensus that the red crowned crane is not available in the states then? I do not plan on getting them for decades, but it would prove to be disappointing if they are not actually in the hobby.

 

[Dr. Todd]

Yes, you could get them but save your pennies. You could attempt an import from Europe but expect to fork over around $10k when all said and done. Unfortunately the AZA as it stands won't let the private folks get involved with the Japanese cranes already in the US, which is a real shame as it's the private folks that have the space, funds and resources to keep good numbers of any bird species going long-term.

Dr. Todd