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HARBIN, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- A total of 58 red-crowned crane were hatched this year in Zhalong National Nature Reserve, the world's largest captive breeding center for the species, in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.
The endangered red-crowned crane is found in northeast of China, Japan and Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). There are no more than 1,000 living in the wild in China and about 2,000 worldwide.
The reserve has been exploring ways to train captive-bred cranes for release into the wild. This year, four were released, according to Gao Zhongyan, a reserve official.
Zhalong National Nature Reserve, covering 2,100 square kilometers, was set up in 1979 in China's largest reed wetland. Currently, the population of wild red-crowned crane there stands at around 300.
At the reserve, each baby crane's basic information is recorded, and they wear colored rings on their legs so they are easily identified.
