Cranes Over the Yangtze
by M Spadecaller
Title
Cranes Over the Yangtze
Artist
M Spadecaller
Medium
Digital Art - Digital & Photographic Art
Description
In the spring each year, the Red-crowned Cranes migrate to their favorite breeding grounds located in the lower regions of the Yangtze River in the Jiangsu Province of China. Their habitats are marshes and marshy grasslands, where they eat small fish, shrimps, aquatic invertebrates, and the roots of some plants. There is also a sedentary group on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
The Red-crowned Crane is a graceful, endangered bird. Though the crane symbolizes longevity, good luck and happiness, the entire species has faced near extinction. Once abundant, this bird, was valued for its meat and reserved for emperors. Following the lifting of feudal restrictions, armed hunters hastily targeted the cranes. After the Meiji Restoration (1868), the cranes were nearly extinct. Miraculously, a small resident population had retreated to the marshes of eastern Hokkaido in Japan and survived the plundering. The second blight on the crane's longevity came with the rapid loss of its breeding grounds because of widespread land development.
By 1949 there were an estimated 35 -36 surviving birds. In the 1950's, residents finally awoke to the plight and the charm of these sacred birds and an arduous effort to protect them commenced. Currently, there are more than 2,000 red-crowned cranes worldwide. Their survival is still precarious and ongoing efforts to protect the red-crowned crane will need to continue. “Cranes Over the Yangtze,” is a hand-painted, mixed media - digital image and photo composite created in Spadecaller’s Florida Studio on 1/25/2021.
Uploaded
January 25th, 2021
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