Lumbini, Nov. 11 -- The chicks are strikingly beautiful. They follow their mother, learning to forage and search for sustenance. Though they cannot yet fly and are still learning to stretch their wings, these young cranes of the species sarus crane (Grus antigone) are now on the brink of their first flight. In a landmark move, conservationists have fitted satellite tags to them for the first time in Nepal.

Six juvenile cranes, aged approximately 100 days and nearing full development, have been fitted with satellite transmitters and colour rings. Three of them were tagged in Rupandehi and the other three in Kapilvastu. The initiative was carried out under technical collaboration with Beijing Forestry University, China while local implemen...