The story about Rwandan President Paul Kagame ordering his people not to keep and domesticate the Grey Crested Crane is good to our Ugandan ears. If people start domesticating the Crane, it means at one time or other they can even slaughter them for meat. As the bird that represents our national insignia, it is important that even countries in the region respect it.
That kind of activity was banned in Uganda a long time ago, if I can properly re-collect. At the time we used tom like the birds dancing. In fact the Karimojong dance is patterned after the Created Crane dance.
I do not know what the Uganda Wildlife Authority is doing to make sure that the Crested Crane does not become extinct. Of late I have been seeing couples of them flying over Mukono and Seeta. I understand they come from places in the swamps of Kulambiro. It is a good lesson to us that even foreign leaders take into account our insignia. So we must take good care of the birds extremely well.
Yusuf Hajji Beoli
Kisenyi- Kampala
