The population of the official state bird, Sarus crane, is on the rise in Uttar Pradesh.

According to the latest summer census conducted on June 20-21, 2024, this year’s count revealed the presence of a total of 19,918 Sarus cranes, marking an increase of 396 from the previous year, state forest department officials said on Wednesday.

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The state-wide census highlighted that the Etawah Forest Division recorded the highest number of Sarus cranes at 3,289. Additionally, ten forest divisions reported the Sarus population exceeding 500. Notably, the Mau Forest Division spotted six Sarus cranes for the first time in a decade. This year’s summer census saw the participation of 10,000 citizens across the state in the census.

The Sarus crane count has shown a consistent upward trend over the years: from 17,329 in 2021 to 19,188 in 2022, 19,522 in 2023, and reaching to 19,918 in 2024. This year alone, the Sarus population increased by 396 compared to last year, totaling an increase of 2,589 cranes from 2021 to 2024.

The 2024 summer census revealed the presence of more than 500 Sarus cranes in 10 divisions. The highest number was recorded in the Etawah Forest Division with 3,289 birds. Other divisions with notable counts include Mainpuri (2,945), Shahjahanpur (1,212), Auraiya (1,202), Kannauj (786), Hardoi (735), Sant Kabir Nagar (717), Kanpur Dehat (709), Gorakhpur (675), and Siddharth Nagar (673).

In 27 forest divisions, the number of Sarus cranes was between 100 and 500. These included Rae Bareli with 428, Sitapur (427), Unnao (426), Bareilly (348), Sohagi Barwa (339), Lakhimpur(306), Banda (261), Barabanki (257), Firozabad(239), South Kheri (209), Aligarh and Amethi (194 each).

The number of sightings of the state bird stood at 186 in Basti, Gautam Buddha Nagar counted 171, Mathura (166), Bijnor Social Forestry(143), Gonda(142), Etah(138), Sultanpur(137, Bahraich (135), Farrukhabad (134), Kanpur Nagar (133), National Chambal Sanctuary (119), Badaun(116), Fatehpur (103) and Chitrakoot and Awadh forest divisions (102 each).

Six cranes were sighted in Mau for the first time in the last 10 years. Besides, there were 31 forest divisions where less than 100 cranes were found including 99 in Shravasti, 95 in Kasganj, 94 in Pilibhit Social Forestry, 86 in Hamirpur, 81 in Sohelwa, 80 in Ambedkar Nagar and 78 in Ayodhya.

A total 75 cranes were sighted in Hathras, 55 in Agra, 54 in Kaushambi and North Kheri, 53 in Pratapgarh, 51 in Meerut, 50 in Kushinagar, 44 in Bulandshahr, 42 in Moradabad, 36 in Katarniaghat, 34 in Deoria, 31 in Lalitpur, 20 in Muzaffarnagar, 18-18 in Mahoba, Prayagraj and Najibabad, 12 in Sambhal, 11-11 in Azamgarh and Jaunpur, six each in Mau and Rampur, four in Orai and two each in Hapur and Palia-Kheri.