Man says bye to bird: Forest dept takes away sarus crane that befriended him

Amethi (UP): The heartwarming story of Arif Khan Gurjar and the sarus crane is over.

The crane that lived with Gurjar in this district’s Mandkha village, accompanied him to his fields and was accepted “like a family member” was on Tuesday taken away by forest department officials.

The bird was shifted to the Samaspur Bird Sanctuary in Rae Bareli on Tuesday, so that it could live in its “natural environment”.

A YouTube video showed Gurjar placing the big bird in the back of a pick-up truck. He appeared to wipe away a tear as he walked away.

The YouTuber asked his subscribers to comment if the officials did a good thing “separating” the man and the bird. But the department said Gurjar agreed with the decision.

"Whatever action has been taken is with Arif’s consent," Divisional Forest Officer D N Singh said on Wednesday. Before the send off, the bird was video-graphed by the department.

The reason for breaking them up? The official said these birds always live in pairs. Since this one was living alone, there was some apprehension.

The bird probably wouldn’t have left on its own.

Last month, Gurjar told PTI, “This sarus is now like a family member. On a number of occasions, I left it in the fields to fly away to its own bird community but it refuses to leave me. It comes back to me every time." Gurjar found the bird about a year back in his fields, lying unconscious with a bleeding leg. He initially thought the sarus was dead, but took it home when he realised that it was still breathing.

He cleaned the wound and applied a mix of turmeric and mustard on it. Then he devised a splint out of bamboo to keep the leg stable.

But the crane refused to fly away even after it was well enough. Whenever Gurjar went out, it followed.

"I have not attended any family function in the last year because I just can't go anywhere. If it doesn’t find me around, it becomes uncomfortable. If I have to go for some work, I need to dodge it. During the night, the bird sleeps by my cot on his one leg,” Gurjar had then said.

"I spend a lot time taking care of him and my family doesn’t mind that. The bird has been accepted as a family member. I have a pet dog too and all of us like the bird."