Kampot province, Cambodia News: The hot weather is not just creating problems for people but also for animals and birds. A rare and endangered species of cranes, the Sarus cranes, normally spend this period of the year in the Kampong Trach Important Bird Area (IBA) at Anlong Pring, in the commune of Kampong Trach, near the Vietnamese border. The protected reserve area covers only 217 ha of seasonally inundated grassland and is situated close to the sea and has a tidal regime, supporting mangrove and salt marsh vegetation in addition to wet grassland.The Sarus Cranes usually arrive in late November and remain until early May when they begin their migration to the wetlands in the northern and eastern plains of Cambodia where they breed.

Chhim Meng, director of the protected area at Anlong Pring crane resort, told reporters on the morning of April 25, 2019, that the cranes are facing a food shortage due to the high temperatures. He said that at the moment, only about 50 cranes are monitored in the area. To compare, in March 2010 the site held over 270 Sarus Cranes, more than 30% of the global population. This year some of the birds have moved elsewhere and some have died because of the shortage of food. The area is patrolled and monitored by local conservation groups.

Too Hot for Fish and Palm Trees in Kampong Thom

Kampong Thom, Cambodia News: On April 28, 2019, the first rain of the rainy season caused 26 tons of fish to die in Chmar river, Stong district, Kampong Thom.
On April 29, Mr. Houn Phal, director of Kampong Thom forestry administration, reported that it was the 2 hour storm while the weather was scorching that caused 25 tons of fish to die.



During the particularly hot spell in Kampong Thom Province, on 29 April , 2019, a group of palm trees took fire, caused by the scorching weather in Veal Lopeak village, Prasat Balang district, Kampong Thom.

The police went to the scene and used two firetrucks to put out the fire to prevent it spreading into to nearby houses.

Figures show that Cambodian Sarus crane population is hanging on, desite the water shortages in their usual habitats.

105 Sarus Cranes Found at a Protected Landscape Area in Cambodia
AKP Phnom Penh, January 03, 2020 --

A total of 105 Sarus Cranes have been recorded at Beoung Prek Lapov Protected Landscape in Takeo province, according to the result of a crane census conducted on Dec. 30-31, 2019.

The number is almost the same as that of last year result, underlined BirdLife International Cambodia Programme, adding that water shortage is more serious threat than last year.

Boeung Prek Lapov management and conservation project has been being implemented in collaboration between the Ministry of Environment, BirdLife, WWT (World Wide Technology) and NatureLife Cambodia, it said.

According to BirdLife, Sarus Crane was justified in the red list category. This crane is listed as vulnerable because it is suspected to have suffered a rapid population decline. Totally, the whole population is between 13,000-15,000.
AKP

Am I correct that these cranes have wings and are free to search out a suitable habitat?
I have been around bird migrations all my life and I must say I give them more credit to find food and water and nesting areas.
They could not harvest salt for 2 years in Kampot because of too much rain.
It would be great if a large habitat was provided.
Hunters in North America saved ducks and geese by providing habitats in Canada.
I can hear geese and ducks flying over my house at night heading to Mexico for the winter.
When people realized 40 years ago around here that quail did not nest around fescue people set aside ground or like my Pop planted Milo around the bean fields and pastures for the quail..and left some native grass areas.
This climate change stuff is for the birds.
Winged creatures can go long distances...
Man can certainly fuck shit up.
DDT wiped out the American Bald Eagle in the lower 48...But, it has come back. I see them here in Kansas.
Now, maybe the Vietnamese can stop using nets that catch ever single living creature in the water.
The cranes are somewhere else that has water.
Too hot?
It gets hotter in Kansas than in Cambodia.june.july.august.
It was -12 two weeks ago and there was a blizzard.
It was 10 last Saturday and I got 500mm of rain.
Would of been snow if colder. or ice ..
Climate change is Kansas...
I had to spend 6 months here in 2019.
Droughts..floods. tornadoes..ice storms..blizzards.the dust bowl 100 years ago..you name it.
The wildlife survives.
Millions of monarch butterflies pass through here.
One reason I love Cambodia is the people are tough as fuck...just like the farmers that settled here.