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Why We Care
Africa’s four crane species, Grey and Black Crowned, Blue and Wattled Cranes, are taken from the wild for local domestication and international trade markets. This trade is one of the primary threats to Black and Grey Crowned Cranes, with a significant impact on their wild populations.
What We Do
 The African Crane Trade Project aims to develop a model program to reduce the impact of the captive crane trade on wild cranes by targeting supply within Africa and demand both within Africa and globally. Our efforts are focused on understanding the complex supply and demand chains that affect cranes; creating awareness of the status of Africa’s resident cranes and the threat that trade poses to wild populations; and advocating for changes in policies and legislation that govern the trade in cranes, both locally and internationally. Download our How Zoos Can Help fact sheet to learn how zoos can become involved.
 In February 2010 Endangered Wildlife Trust staff returned four Blue Cranes to the Karoo in South Africa. The cranes were confiscated from traders who had illegally captured the birds from the wild. Three of the cranes are pictured, with wraps to keep them calm during the transfer, just prior to release. Photo by Bradley Gibbons, Endangered Wildlife Trust
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Grey and Black Crowned Cranes, icons of the African savannas and grasslands and once considered the most secure of African cranes, have declined in the wild by roughly 50% and 25% respectively over the last 20 years.
Although habitat loss is a significant threat for these species, trade in live cranes from the wild to captive facilities around the world for display is believed to be a main cause for their dramatic decline.
Read the Story
Learn more about African crane trade through the story of two Grey Crowned Crane chicks rescued from traders from ICF colleague Jimmy Muheebwa, Project Coordinator for Nature Uganda.
The African Crane Trade Project is led by the International Crane Foundation/Endangered Wildlife Trust Partnership for African Cranes.
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