The Tale of the White Cranes. Chapter Four.
This story is about how people are trying to save the West Siberian population of Siberian Cranes. Siberian Cranes are a species that is on the verge of extinction. The birthplace of Siberian Cranes is Siberia. Siberian Cranes breed chicks in Yamal in the lower reaches of the Ob River, and winter in Iran and India. There are only twenty of them left. In 1979, at the initiative of the International Crane Conservation Fund, a nursery was established in the Oksky Reserve. The nursery was created to preserve the Siberian Crane, but now all seven species of cranes living in Russia live in it. Gradually, couples were created in the reserve, who have been living together for more than a dozen years. Every year scientists release chicks of Siberian Cranes into the wild. Every morning, the staff of the nursery take on the role of the parents of the Siberian Cranes. Cranes chicks should not know that they were raised by people. They must become wild birds. To hide themselves, employees must wear white suits, helmets, and an imitation of the beak of an adult Siberian Crane on their hands. The Siberian Cranes living in the nursery cannot show the chicks the migration routes of wild birds. Someone needs to guide the birds along this route. For example, a man on a hang glider.