Authorities of the Zhalong Crane Breeding Center, based in the northeastern Heilongjiang Province and the largest center of its kind in China, are taking emergency measures to prevent the occurrence and spread of bird flu into the center.

Staff of the center are working around the clock to monitor the behavior and health of the red-crowned cranes and other rare bird species in the center.

The center now houses 13 species of birds totaling 150, including red-crowned cranes, wide geese, swans, Australian cranes and red-necked cranes.

Ma Jianhua, head of the center, said all the birds were expected to be vaccinated within a week.

As large number of cranes are expected fly back to the center from the south in March, the center is drafting emergency measures to prevent the rare bird species from being infected with the bird flu virus.

One of the measures is to build a quarantine zone 10 kilometers away from the center for emergency use.

Covering more than 40,000 hectares, the Zhalong Nature Reserve, in Qiqihar City and where the Zhalong Crane Breeding Center is located, is China's largest state-level protection zone for waterfowl.

(Xinhua News Agency February 22, 2004)