Welcome to the Overberg Crane Group site

Blue cranes are under threat in South Africa. There are only around 25 000 blue cranes left in the country and of the remaining population, almost half are found in the Overberg in the Western Cape. As a result, South Africa’s national bird is listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red Data List of Threatened Species. Threats to the survival of blue cranes include illegal trade, power-line collisions, poisonings and habitat loss. And that’s where the Overberg Crane Group comes in. The Crane Group – a partnership between the Overberg community and CapeNature – realises that much still needs to be done and much still needs to be learnt about the blue crane to protect them from further population decline.

The Overberg Crane Group works to:

• Conserve the blue crane
• Address threats to blue cranes
• Monitor blue crane conservation methods
• Promote blue crane related research project