Saving Rwanda’s Grey Crowned Cranes

The Grey Crowned Crane is listed as Endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Endangered Species. Between the mid 1980s and 2015 the crane population in Rwanda dropped from 2,500 to below 500. This decline was largely due to poaching eggs for food, the illegal pet trade, as well as loss of habitat due to human development. In captivity, cranes are stressed and usually injured whilst in transport. Some have had their wings broken whilst others have had their flight feathers cut so they couldn’t escape. The cranes were generally maltreated due to a lack of understanding and knowledge of how to properly care for them.

In Rwanda, Dr. Olivier Nsengimana has helped to turn the situation around for grey crowned cranes. Dr. Olivier is a Rwandan veterinarian who graduated top of his class at the Higher Institute of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Rwanda. He also has a Master of Veterinary Science, Conservation Medicine from the University of Edinburgh, UK. Dr. Olivier started his career as a wildlife Vet working with the Gorilla Doctors in Volcanoes National Park, northern Rwanda. However, witnessing the drastic decline of the crane population across Rwanda had a profound impact on him. In 2014 he designed a unique conservation project to save his country’s endangered cranes by working to abolish its illegal trade. He won the Rolex Award for Enterprise which allowed him to implement the project, which involved establishing a database of the illegally kept cranes in Rwanda. The project led to 233 cranes being freed.

Umusambi Village – “Umusambi” means crane in Kinyarwanda – is a restored wetland area on the eastern outskirts of Rwanda’s capital Kigali. Created as a private refuge and sanctuary for those illegally traded cranes unable to return to the wild. It provides them with a second chance to live free in nature. Those cranes able to fly were taken to Akagera National Park which is located in Eastern Rwanda where they could re-learn the behaviours they needed in the wild and re-grow their flight feathers. When ready they could fly away into the rest of the national park. Rings were placed on each rescued crane to help identify them in future.

In 2015, Dr. Olivier founded the Rwandan Wildlife Conservation Association (RWCA), a non-profit organisation dedicated to expanding research and conservation efforts for all endangered and threatened species in Rwanda and across the East Africa region. The RWCA was founded, and is run by Rwandans who understand that outreach and collaboration is critical to raise awareness and protect grey crowned cranes and other endangered species. They utilise a holistic and multi-disciplinary, One Health Approach in order to find sustainable solutions.

Dr. Olivier and his team work closely with the Rwandan government to raise awareness about Rwanda’s endangered species and the laws protecting them. RWCA also engages and supports local communities that live next to the cranes’ wetland homes. Since 2018, the RWCA has recruited and trained 30 Community Conservation Champions. They work within their communities, at different biodiversity hotspots around the country. By engaging with landowners, community leaders and farmers they ensure the cranes and their breeding areas are protected and key conservation messages are understood. To further their understanding of the movement of wild Grey Crowned Cranes, Dr Olivier’s team has been collaborating with conservationists in neighbouring Uganda and Tanzania. Using GPS data collected from tags attached to released cranes, the team has been able to understand which wetland areas across the East African landscape are important for the cranes and allocate resources to monitor them.

During the initial stages of Dr. Olivier’s conservation project, Umusambi Village was created as a permanent refuge for those rescued cranes unable to fly. The site has since evolved from a private crane sanctuary into a 21-hectare nature reserve. Umusambi Village is now home to approximately 180 different species of birds, including 51 disabled cranes that are unable to return to the wild. It also provides a unique eco-tourism attraction in Kigali City, connecting people with nature whilst at the same time raising awareness about the RWCA’s work to protect Grey Crowned Cranes and other endangered species.

Each year the RWCA conducts a census to count the number of cranes across Rwanda and it is great to report that the number of Grey Crowned Cranes in Rwanda have doubled since the project started. Also, for the first time the 2022 census recorded more than 1000 cranes. The success of Dr Olivier’s conservation efforts is also borne out when wild cranes (without rings) return and breed with the cranes at living at Umusambi Village. Moreover, Umusambi Village is an excellent example of how wetlands are sustaining ecosystems which not only benefit the wide range of species that call it home but also us humans, and the environment we share. Please learn more at: www.rwandawildlife.org.