"Love is still alive!" Wang Zhiru from Jiangxi Academy of Forestry, said excitedly when receiving a picture of a white crane on January 3rd 2019. The white crane they named Love was saved and set free in early 2018.
Love was first found on April 24th 2018, when Li Zengming, a farmer, drove past a reservoir in the countryside of Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi Province. Seeing it trying to fly but falling again and again, Li thought that it might be hurt. He drove to the shore and went into the water to rescue it. "I saw the white crane with dull eyes and a weak body. It was probably hurt. If I let it alone, it would be in danger," Li recalled. After more than half an hour, Li finally took the white crane back to the shore.
Then he called his uncle, an experienced animal saver for help. "Come over immediately and let's send it to the police station right away"said his uncle. When seeing the weak wild crane, Jiang Qingchun from the Five-Star Police Station, put down his work and checked it carefully.
"At the end of April, migratory (迁移的) birds usually return to the north. It's abnormal for a white crane to still be living nearby. It may be left behind because of its poor health." Jiang said. He contacted Wang at the Jiangxi Academy of Forestry for help. Wang's team found Love did not seem to be hurt or have illness, but it suffered from hunger and tiredness. After five days' treatment, its weight rose from 3.75kg to 4kg.
Being kept for long will be bad for birds' ability to survive in the wild. Wang's team decided on May 2nd to set it free at a place in northern China so that it could join the migrating group heading for Siberia in Russia. On May 8th, Love was set free at the Momoge National Nature Reserve.
