Donetsk, Jun 27 – DAN. Endangered demoiselle cranes living in a DPR natural reserve Khomutovskaya Steppe have produced offsprings, said the state committee of ecological policy and natural resources under the DPR Head.
"Two rare demoiselle cranes paired up and hatched chicks for the first time in decades in the Khomutovskaya Steppe wildlife refuge," the press release said.
The demoiselle crane (Anthropoides virgo or Grus virgo) is the smallest species of crane and third most abundant with an estimated global population of 200-240 thousand birds. The demoiselle is 89 cm tall on average, weights up to 3 kg.
The species is included in the European Red List and the Red Book.
It is protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention, the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Bonn convention), and the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention).
The Khomutovskaya Steppe natural reserve is located in the Novoazovsk region of the DPR, its protected biosphere area constitutes 50 percent of the DPR total reserve lands. Khomutovskaya Steppe covers more than 18,000 ha, 7,746 of them are in the Azov seawaters. It contains more than 600 varieties of steppe plants including rare and endemic plants; dozens of mammal, reptile, amphibian, and fish species live there, as well as 1,500 insect species. *ot