In early September, the media released sensational news - Russian President Vladimir Putin will lead a flock of white cranes to winter, following them on a motor hang-glider ahead of them. Such news made many Russians smile, but the media reports are based on very real facts.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is not the first time trying to draw attention to the problems of endangered species of animals - in particular, not so long ago he could be seen in the Ussuri taiga while studying local tigers. Now his attention has been attracted by the Siberian Cranes - white cranes, the number of which is steadily declining.
There are two populations of these birds in Russia, on the Yamal and in the lower reaches of the Ob. It is the number of the latter population that has been constantly decreasing in recent years due to the development of human habitats. Scientists have tried to save the birds by raising them in captivity, but a new problem has arisen - “domestic” cranes do not know exactly where they should fly to spend the winter, they simply have no one to show the way. Under natural conditions, young cranes travel in the company of parents and other birds who know the route, later they themselves show the way to the younger generation. Now this natural process has been disrupted, scientists are trying to find a way to show young Siberian Cranes the way to wintering places.
One of the options, already partially tested in practice, is that a flock of cranes follows a white hang-glider that shows them the way. Sterkhovs are taught in advance not to be afraid of the apparatus; they make small training flights with it. Scientists hope that they will be able to lead the birds to their wintering grounds in Uzbekistan.
Traditionally, Siberian Cranes winter in Iran, but the way there is associated with great difficulties - in particular, Iranian and Pakistani hunters shoot birds. Therefore, it was decided to offer the Siberian Cranes a safer place in Uzbekistan, where other species of cranes also winter. True, even there the path is very far, so young white cranes will follow the motor hang-glider only at the first stage of the journey. Further, scientists expect to attach them to gray cranes, together with which the Siberian Cranes will get to the wintering place.
If it were not for the participation of the Russian president in the experiment, the "Flight of Hope" project would hardly have attracted so much attention from the press. Nevertheless, they started talking about him, on the network you can find numerous comments on this topic. Someone criticizes Putin for populism, while others, on the contrary, consider the president's participation in this action quite justified, believing that this will help draw public attention to the problems of preserving rare birds and animals.
