According to statistics, before the war, the Hula Lake Park valley, the area with the highest concentration of cranes in the country, received 400.000 birds annually as part of their seasonal migration.
For years, workers from various conservation teams have been working to protect biodiversity and ensure that key species like cranes can continue to fulfill their natural migratory cycles.
An example of this is the team from the Hula Lake Park Wildlife Acclimatization Center (KKL), who rescued and rehabilitated a young sandhill crane trapped in a fence in an agricultural area near Kibbutz Gonen, in the Galilee region.
The bird was found exhausted and with a serious injury to its right leg, a dangerous condition for cranes due to their long-legged body structure.
Shadi Da'abous, an inspector with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, explained that he received "a report from a hiker about a crane caught in a fence at dusk. Its legs were tangled and one of them was injured, so I transported it to the treatment center in Agamon."
Cranes are especially vulnerable to extreme stress, which can lead to a life-threatening condition known as capture myopathy. Furthermore, their natural aversion to human presence means the rescue process must be carried out with extreme care to prevent further harm.
For her recovery, the crane was sedated and given fluids, vitamins, and care in a calm, stress-free environment. After several days of recovery, the bird was able to stand again and was released into the fields of Hula Lake Park, where researchers believe her family was waiting for her, just before the start of the crane migration north.