Thomas Heinicke (left) and Michael Modrow, both from Kranich-Schutz Deutschland, let two young cranes (Grus grus) back into the wild early in the morning after they had been ringed Photo: picture alliance/dpa
From BZ editors
A sprint, grabbed and quickly back outside after a few minutes! Young cranes were caught and ringed in Brandenburg. A challenge – for animals and humans.
Thomas Heinicke and Michael Modrow, both from Crane Protection Germany, work in various breeding areas in Brandenburg on the south-eastern border with Berlin.
Only with a lot of experience can they carefully sneak up on the birds and then, in a short sprint, catch the chicks in the tall grass. The parents usually fly a little further and call for the chicks.
Michael Modrow is holding a crane that has a cloth over its head for protection Photo: picture alliance/dpa
The cranes have to be weighed and measured before they are marked with a color combination of colored rings – this way each animal can later be assigned. After just a few minutes, the chicks run back towards the calling parents.
Michael Modrow measures the length of a crane’s head Photo: picture alliance/dpa
Between the towns of Storkow, Wildau and Rangsdorf, the couple Nadja and Volker Fischer take care of the breeding grounds. About 60 pairs of gray cranes, also known as Eurasian cranes, breed here. In 2021 almost 30 chicks were counted. Around 60 cranes were ringed in the entire state of Brandenburg in 2021.
After being ringed, a crane quickly runs back to freedom Photo: picture alliance/dpa