Japan's Red-Crowned Cranes

Japan's ____________________ - crowned ____________________ . The Kushiro ____________________ in Hokkaido . The Kushiro wetlands in ____________________ Hokkaido is the largest in Japan , ____________________ over 2400 ____________________ . With magnificent ____________________ and abundant ____________________ it's one of the few ____________________ where you can get so close to truly ____________________ nature . It's also ____________________ to these rare red - crowned ____________________ regarded by many in Japan as ____________________ . Uniquely for this normally ____________________ species , these cranes live here year round . After their famous ____________________ dance these cranes ____________________ for life . They are one of the ____________________ - living birds , with an average lifespan of ____________________ years . This long ____________________ and ____________________ are why the red - crowned crane is a much loved ____________________ of good ____________________ for the Japanese . Unfortunately , these birds are now ____________________ worldwide as an ____________________ species . Migratory red - crowned cranes are still ____________________ in mainland Asia , but Japan's resident population has ____________________ . The crane's natural food is ____________________ and small ____________________ from the local ____________________ . However , the effects on the environment of forest ____________________ and other ____________________ have reduced their ____________________ to such food . This is especially a problem in ____________________ when the rivers ____________________ over . Today , these cranes would not survive the ____________________ season without ____________________ assistance . Fifty years ago , the efforts of ____________________ man alone saved the red - crowned cranes which were approaching ____________________ . His name was Yoshitaka Ito . Ito devoted half his ____________________ to helping this crane population ____________________ . Discovering that only a ____________________ pair of birds ____________________ , he began feeding them and ____________________ them to breed . The results of Ito's many years researching their habits laid the ____________________ for today's ____________________ . Ito's passion for Kushiro's red crowned ____________________ continues to inspire a new ____________________ . Specialist park rangers are now ____________________ here to conserve this ____________________ , and study its ____________________ eco - system . Our goal is to allow the ____________________ to live by feeding ____________________ - the way they do in ____________________ . For us - the best results will be when the ____________________ no longer ____________________ our ____________________ . Among the Rangers conservation ____________________ is clearing away overgrown vegetation and fallen trees by the ____________________ to give the cranes free ____________________ to their feeding ____________________ . There are a lot of different ____________________ that need to be ____________________ out in the ____________________ of course , but I think our most ____________________ work may be ____________________ a deeper ____________________ between ____________________ and these ____________________ . We have various ongoing ____________________ to interest more ____________________ in our ____________________ . . . to preserve the environment in this ____________________ . . . . . and for us all to work together to ____________________ these wonderful rare birds are properly ____________________ . The number of cranes in Kushiro has now increased to about ____________________ . And they're attracting ____________________ visitors from all over ____________________ . Thanks to the efforts of the ____________________ , a new generation of ____________________ knows why these cranes need ____________________ . The fact that cranes now thrive in this environment ____________________ that the natural eco - system itself [ . . . is ____________________ for them . . . ] Protecting the cranes depends on ensuring the ____________________ of this whole ____________________ eco - system - so , protecting the red - crowned ____________________ and this wetland in its ____________________ form , takes us one step toward ( s ) finding a way for ____________________ to co - exist with ____________________ . [ The ] survival of these ____________________ birds is a ____________________ that we can live in ____________________ with ____________________ . . . .