Environment News

Black-Necked Crane Festival - Ladakh

August 18 , 2026 13 hrs 0 min 20 0

Ladakh is hosting its first-ever Black-necked Crane Festival to promote conservation of this threatened species.
The festival is being held in Ladakh, where the Changthang Cold Wildlife Sanctuary is the only breeding ground of the Black-necked Crane in India.
The cranes breed in Tso Kar and Hanle wetlands in the Changthang region of eastern Ladakh, at about 2,500–5,000 metres above sea level.
The Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) is the only high-altitude crane species in the world and is listed as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List.
It is the State Bird of Ladakh and is considered sacred in the region.
Around 16,000 Black-necked Cranes are found across India, Bhutan, Nepal and China.