Young lama Gyaincain Tarqin is running excitedly towards a swamp with his camcorder in the early morning to welcome home old friends.

"The black-necked cranes are home," he exclaims on hearing the bird cries.

Living in a remote temple, Gyaincain Tarqin has been observing black-necked cranes for three years in Rutog County, the most remote county in Tibet Autonomous Region.

He bought the camcorder to record the activities of black-necked cranes for posterity.

"Black-necked cranes are the only cranes in the world living on plateaus. There are about 5,000 black-necked cranes in the world and most of them spend the winter and breed here in Tibet," said Gyaincain Tarqin.

"Even children without education here know black-necked cranes are protected as our town is also their birthplace," Gyaincain Tarqin said.

Ornithologists have concluded that Tibet is the home of black-necked cranes after years of study.

Of the 15 crane species in the world, the black-necked variety was the last to be identified as they move only in areas between the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau.

In 1876, a Russian explorer chanced upon the crane at Qinghai Lake, northwest China's Qinghai Province, and published news of his sighting.

Local environmental departments have been raising awareness of the rare birds and the importance of protecting them. Special funds have been set aside for supplementary feed for black-necked cranes each February and March.

Due to the effective measures, the wary bird is relatively relaxed in Tibet. The closest bird-watchers can get to a black-necked crane in countries like India and Nepal is 15 meters, but Tibetans often come face-to-face with the birds across a brook or grassland as close as seven meters, say experts with the International Crane Foundation.

(Xinhua News Agency November 10, 2003)