POPULATION STRUCTURE AND HUNTING OF DEMOISELLE CRANES IN DISTRICT BANNU, KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA, PAKISTAN

Abstract

The crane is a large, beautiful animal with long necks, legs, and life expectancy. Like a few other wild wildlife, this group of birds has the potential to lift people's emotions. The current study was carried out from September 2019 to June 2022 in District Bannu Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan to check the hunting rate of Demoiselle crane. Different sites were visited and the data was collected in the form of questionnaires.  The entire hunting area was visited, along with the rivers Kurram and Kashu, and the hunters were observed and interviewed during that time. The River Kurram, River Kashu, and River Gambilla, which are located in the Bannu and Lakky Marwat Districts, respectively, are the well-known locations for hunting in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa. Out of the seventy-one hunter groups, group 1 (comprising sixty-three people) reported that there were sixty-five hunting sites along the Kurram River; group 2, comprising thirty-seven members, reported that there were fifty-two hunting sites along the same river. The majority of hunters (70%) felt that early spring (March) was the ideal time to hunt. Majority of hunters (80%; 56/70) found that late night was the optimum time to hunt Demoiselle cranes, with the remaining 10% hunting in the early morning (07/70 and daytime 5.7% (04/70). When hunting Demoiselle cranes, the majority of hunters employed both soya and gun shooting (54/70; 77%), followed by twenty percent (14/70) who used only soya, and three percent (one out of seventy) who exclusively employed gunfire. The selected area is one of the better significant places for Demoiselle crane, which is significantly impacted by a number of risk factors that are in charge of the species' limited migration and population. The best methods for conservation are legislative protection through prohibitions on gaming and rearing, where it is removed from the Red List of Endangered Species.