00:00Hey guys, nobidao for our nature and environment in Japan playlist.
00:05So this is the Arkhan
00:08International Crane Centre in South East Hokkaido
00:13and these guys are dedicated to saving the red crowned cranes. So apparently red crowned cranes used to be found
00:19all over Japan on Honshu as well
00:21but they sort of got hunted out and their natural environment sort of got encroached on
00:27so now they can really only be found in this area of South East and Hokkaido.
00:32So this centre is to feed them, I think they said during spring and autumn, so they weren't there when
00:39we were there
00:40but apparently this big open space here gets covered in cranes a couple of times a year
00:44and these guys feed them and take care of them.
00:47So also when they come and go, sometimes some get left behind because they have some injuries
00:53or because they are too young to fly with the other guys
00:58and in that case they're sort of taken in here and looked after.
01:04There was actually a sign on this guy's cage that said he really likes people.
01:10It seemed to be the case as well.
01:13So it's sort of good, obviously it's good for the cranes that the ones that need to be taken care
01:18of
01:18are sort of taken in here and looked after and sometimes they said that they release them
01:24if they recover well.
01:26Other ones like that friendly guy, apparently he won't be released
01:31because he won't survive in the wild on his own so they just look after him.
01:34So it's good for the cranes that they get looked after
01:36and it's also good for the people that come to see them
01:38because obviously there's only a couple of times a year where you can see them out covering that field
01:43and at least if there's some here we can see when we come, we can see what they look like
01:48because they're a rare thing.
01:49We don't normally see them in Japan.
01:57So this place is actually a protected nature reserve
02:00so it did make it quite pleasant to walk around.
02:03We walked around down next to the river and had a bit of a wander around
02:06and saw lots of other birds as well.
02:08So it is quite a nice environment if you find yourself in this part of Hokkaido.
02:12It's worth dropping in and having a look.
02:15Admission is really cheap.
02:16It was like 500 yen or something so it's pretty cheap
02:20but it also supports a good cause taking care of the birdies.
02:33So some of them were also nesting and there were chicks as well
02:37so some sitting on eggs and others walking around with little chicks.
02:44So it's good to see because endangered they are.
02:47They're pretty rare.
02:48They almost went extinct apparently and they were just saved
02:52so the fact that they're still breeding and getting more of them is a good thing of course.
03:04You can see we're having some good weather too.
03:07Definitely is the time of year to visit Hokkaido.
03:11Usually in winter of course this is covered in metres of snow
03:15so this time of year obviously
03:19much easier to get around
03:20and just beautiful.
03:22The countryside this is such a beautiful place.
03:27Much easier to get around and beautiful scenery
03:29so definitely a good time to be here to visit Hokkaido.
03:33In this case see the birdies.
03:51More videos coming soon.
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