Left: This was the X-ray taken showing her broken leg just under the left “knee” Right: Nandi sees himself in a mirror and thinks it’s another wattled crane.

Nandi, in Zulu, means pure, pristine and enduring power. This couldn’t be more descriptive of what Wattled Cranes need to survive.  In an ideal world, a pristine habitat would’ve guaranteed longevity, and the power to endure would have cemented the survival success of the cranes. But we do not live in an ideal world, and things are not perfect.

In August 2024, we received a distraught call from a dedicated Wattled Crane farmer, who had restored his wetland to encourage Wattled Crane breeding, to inform us that his six-week-old Wattled Crane chick was not mobile. We went out to check on the chick with Brent Coverdale of Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife to assess the problem.  As an Endangered species, every bird matters.  Once we determined that the chick was unable to walk, we decided to take it to the FreeMe Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Howick.

After having X-rays done, it was discovered that the chick had a serious fracture in one leg, very close to the growth plate. Dr Margie Roach determined that surgery would not be possible. In some ways, this was a good thing because as the chick grew, the break repaired itself in a process where the growth plate pushes out soft cartilage, which later hardens into bone.  This, in effect, repaired the break under the careful eye of the FreeMe team.

Nandi’s leg healed perfectly and straight.  You would never say she had had a broken leg!  While at the rehabilitation centre, Nandi was raised using the isolation rearing method, which prevents a crane chick from imprinting on humans.  However, she was still habituated to people, and so a team of 10 or so people met to discuss her future.

By then, Nandi had not seen another Wattled crane since she was six weeks old. She had been taught how to eat, forage and fly by a surrogate crane in the form of a human in a crane suit. In addition, she had not had much flight practice. Although the flight tunnel at FreeMe was available to her, there was not enough space for a true flight.

Wattled Cranes need to spend at least three to four years in the non-breeding flock to ensure that they learn about survival from the older birds. Although Nandi was from KwaZulu-Natal, we decided that because she was not flight fit and still had a naive outlook on life, it would be better to integrate her into a floater flock that was not too intimidating and where she would not face the variety of threats present in the local landscape.  A decision was made to move her to a pristine wetland in Mpumalanga to live with a bird that had been living alone for a decade or so.

Nandi was fitted with a backpack tracker and colour rings and released close to the wild crane when she was almost nine months old. Having none of this, the wild crane moved off to the top end of the wetland and kept his distance.

After her release, we monitored her every day, arriving at approximately 6.30 am with bated breath, hoping she had survived the night and hoping by some miracle that the two cranes were together.

Eleven days after releasing Nandi, we arrived at the wetland and to our absolute amazement, the two cranes were together.  Words cannot describe the feelings of overwhelming joy we felt after everything Nandi had been through.  My first call was to Lara Fuller, my colleague in the African Crane Conservation Programme, at about 6.45 am to tell her and the rest of the team the good news!

We watched them closely, monitoring the interactions between the two.  The wild crane’s mate had died a few years ago, and it had been alone in the wetland since.  So we weren’t sure how it would react to a new crane either.   The motive for releasing Nandi with the wild crane was not for them to pair up—firstly, Nandi was too young (Wattled cranes only start breeding between the ages of three and six), and secondly, we did not know the sex of the wild crane.  We hoped this was the start of a floater flock.

From their behaviour, it became apparent that the wild crane had become the parent, with Nandi following it everywhere.  Our daily observations were important for our crane research, as this was the first time that a rehabilitated wattled crane had been released back into the wild. This meant that everything she/they did was new and undocumented.

One night, we left them after dark; the wild crane looked like he had put Nandi to bed.  She had settled herself into a patch of long reeds in the wetland, with the wild crane looking on. Then it left and went to its normal roosting spot a few hundred metres from her.

The next morning, there was no sign of Nandi. The wild crane was also looking for her.  It was the saddest thing to see.  Nandi’s tracker had not moved for hours.   Tragedy had struck, and after searching for her, we found her.  She had been killed by a predator, most likely a caracal—we deduced this from the bite pattern. Predators are known to have a significant impact on the survival of crane chicks, estimated at a 50% mortality rate.

Disappointment for everyone involved.

Although the outcome was not what we had hoped for, we now have a greater understanding of how to improve techniques for future crane rehabilitation. Unfortunately, as the species has increased over the last two decades, we are likely to see more and more birds being brought into landscapes not ideal for the species and succumbing to possible threats.

Perhaps one of Nandi’s greatest legacies will be the inspiration that she brought to those working in conservation in Mpumalanga. Her loss has inspired further work within this region and may form a new strategy in the South African landscape to expand the Wattled Crane range in Mpumalanga.

Nandi’s quiet endurance may be her species’ future!

Lara Fuller (Drakensberg Project Coordinator) in a crane suit, walking Nandi to the wetland