ASSESSING THE BIOLOGICAL STATUS OF DEMOISELLE CRANES (ANTHROPOIDES VIRGO) AND EURASIAN CRANE (GRUS GRUS) WITH RESPECT TO ILLEGAL HUNTING AND CAPTIVITY IN DISTRICT LAKKI MARWAT AND BANNU, KHYBER-PAKHTUNKHWA PROVINCE, PAKISTAN

The present research is focused on assessing the biological status of the Demoiselle crane (Anthropoides virgo) and Eurasian crane (Grus grus) with respect to Illegal hunting and captivity in the districts of Bannu and Lakki Marwat, located in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The study involves field visits, interviews with crane hunters and local breeders, and the collection of relevant information through questionnaires. In Lakki Marwat, during the hunting seasons of fall 2021 and spring 2022, a total of 33 cranes were captured while 52 cranes were captured during hunting season of fall 2022 and spring 2023. Similarly, in district Bannu, 21 cranes were captured during fall 2021 and spring 2022, and 31 cranes were captured during fall 2022 and spring 2023. Throughout the study, collectively, 2300 Demoiselle cranes and 1400 Eurasian cranes were studied in captivity. In Lakki Marwat, the hatching success rate was 51% and 50.8% for Demoiselle crane and Eurasian cranes respectively. The chick survival rate for both Demoiselle and Eurasian cranes was 62.3% and 54.2% respectively. In district Bannu, the hatching success rate was 57.2% for Demoiselle crane and 56.8% for Eurasian cranes, with a chick survival rate of 54.8% for Demoiselle and 46.7% for Eurasian cranes. The main causes of mortality in captive cranes, in both districts, were diseases, heat stress, predation, injuries, and developmental problems of chicks.