Calls for Sarus crane to be released after heartbreaking video with human friend: ‘Their love is pure’

Man and bird had developed an unusual bond before it was seized by authorities and caged

A petition has been launched for India to release a Sarus crane whose friendship with the man who nursed it back to health went viral online, after the latest video showing the pair meeting at a zoo.

Mohammad Arif, a farmer in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, says he rescued the injured bird and nursed it in February last year. He set the bird free after its recovery but the crane stayed near his home and developed an unusual friendship with him.

Videos of the bird following Mr Arif everywhere went viral on social media and the tale of their relationship touched people’s hearts.

The heartwarming tale, however, had a sad ending after authorities charged Mr Arif under India’s Wildlife Protection Act for keeping an endangered bird.

The bird was taken to a wildlife sanctuary and later to a zoo in Kanpur city by forest department officials, triggering outrage as the free bird was caged by officials.

And on Tuesday, an emotional reunion between Mr Arif and the bird at Kanpur’s Allen Forest Zoo went viral on social media and has led to an increase in calls for the bird to be set free.

The video of their meeting showed the crane excitedly flapping its wings inside its cage as it saw Mr Arif.

MP Varun Gandhi, who belongs to the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state, said the bird should be set free and allowed to reunite with Mr Arif.

“Their love is pure. This beautiful bird is meant to fly freely and not to live in a cage,” he tweeted in the Hindi language.

“Give back the bird it’s sky, freedom and friend.”

Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, from the opposition Samajwadi Party, lashed out at the BJP for separating the two in the first place.

“The BJP people do not love the environment of love, whether it is love between man and man or between man and bird. Those who find their happiness by giving sorrow to others can never be happy,” Mr Yadav said.

The petition calling for the bird to be freed has been launched on Change.org.

“A Sarus Crane has been picked up by the UP Forest Department because it was friendly with a farmer. The crane has now been put into a cage at the zoo,” it said.

“The crane committed no crime. Is being friendly with human beings a crime? Why is the bird being punished for no reason? It has lost its freedom and is clearly distressed and unhappy in the cage,” it said.

The crane’s story has evoked strong reactions online, with some calling caging the bird “inhuman” and “heartbreaking”.

“The political ego of people has reached such a level that they cage even birds to keep them away from a minority community member the bird prefers to be with! The Sarus crane, which was living with Arif before the govt put it in a cage, saw him again,” said one Twitter user.

Mr Arif told The Print that he met the bird for “just five minutes” after days of waiting for zoo officials to lift a quarantine requirement to meet the crane.

He said he was disheartened to see the crane in a cage and said his visit had left the zoo veterinarian tearful as the crane had become “anxious” upon seeing him and flapped its wings.

“I was worried its wings would hit the net (of the cage) and he would injure himself,” said Mr Arif.

The officials first put the bird under quarantine for 15 days and later extended the quarantine by another 15 days.

“As soon as I said ‘how are you’, he [the crane] started jumping around excitedly,” he told the outlet.

“His reaction was the same as earlier, when I used to come home after four to five hours.”