Gay cranes have successfully reproduced naturally in Beijing for the first time, hatching two chicks in the Elk Garden of the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Area (BDA).

Currently, the small gray cranes are about one month old, and have just begun to move around following their parents.

This ten-day-old baby gray crane can swim out of the island with its parents [Photo/kfqgw.beijing.gov.cn}

A newly hatched baby gray crane [Photo/kfqgw.beijing.gov.cn]

A female gray crane feeds her kids. [Photo/kfqgw.beijing.gov.cn]

Baby gray cranes [Photo/kfqgw.beijing.gov.cn]

The grey crane is the most widely distributed of the world's 15 crane species. 

It has been included in the Second-Grade State Protection Animal List and China's National Key Protected Wildlife Catalog. 

The gray crane is a large wading bird with a body length of 100-120 cm. Their neck and feet are very long, with feathers mostly gray. 

Gray cranes inhabit open plains, grasslands, marshes, river beaches, wilderness, lakes and farmlands, and prefer open lakes and swamp areas rich in waterside plants.

The breeding grounds of gray cranes in China are located in the northern part of Xinjiang and Northeast China; Beijing is just a wintering ground for them, not a place for breeding. 

According to the experts there has been no record of the natural reproduction of gray cranes at the Beijing Zoo for many years, and the natural reproduction of the animals in the Elk Garden is a first for Beijing.

The gray crane baby gets stronger as it reaches one month old. [Photo/kfqgw.beijing.gov.cn]

An adult gray crane at the nest [Photo/kfqgw.beijing.gov.cn]