UP man Arif's Sarus crane friend starts taking natural food at Kanpur zoo

The rescued Sarus crane has started taking natural food at the Kanpur zoo where the bird has been quarantined for the past 15 days, says the zoo director.

Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh):Sarus crane, which was taken away by the forest department officials for rehabilitation at Kanpur zoo, has started taking natural food. This was confirmed by zoo director KK Singh on Thursday. "The bird ate natural food like grains, pulses, spinach, fish, peas and others. The stork is getting acclimatised in its natural habitat. The bird has begun liking the new green environment. It has started showing normal behaviour," the zoo director said.

It may be recalled that Sarus crane's friendship with Arif Khan Gurjar in Uttar Pradesh's Mandka village hogged the limelight. Arif had brought the injured bird to his house and took care of the winged guest. The bonding between Sarus and Arif became so strong that the bird accompanied Arif wherever he went. The video of the crane flying alongside Arif's motorcycle and following him wherever he went grabbed the eyeballs. People in hordes used to visit Arif's house to see the bonding between them. Several YouTubers were making a beeline to Arif's house to cover the unique friendship between the duo.

Recently, Sarus was taken away by the forest department officials. The pain of separation from his owner was quite visible in Saras's behaviour. The Crane stopped taking food when it was quarantined for 15 days at Kanpur zoo. Before taking the bird to Kanpur zoo, efforts were made to rehabilitate the stork at a sanctuary. But, it was not successful. Thereafter, the bird was brought to Kanpur zoo. Earlier, the Sarus had stopped taking food at the zoo. Now, the bird's activities are being monitored on a CCTV camera round-the-clock.