Dan-Dan, the red-crowned crane, “trespassed” unwittingly into the flight zone of Hsinchu, northern Taiwan and was injured by gunfire from air force personnel in September 2004. It was later sent to the Taipei City Zoo for treatment, where it has remained since.

The Taipei City Zoo has tried in vain over the past three years to send Dan-Dan to South Korea as the crane is on the protected list of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which requires consent of a receiving country before an animal can be exported.

The origin of the crane is unknown.

Chen Pao-chung, the head officer of the Taipei City Zoo, said Thursday that once the import license is received from the Seoul City Zoo, which maintains sister ties with the Taipei City Zoo, he expects Dan-Dan will be sent to the Seoul zoo, probably next March, to prepare it for release to the wild in 2009.

Chen said his office will file an application with the Council of Agriculture soon for an export license for the crane’s departure.

As a result of the bird’s injuries and the fact that it has been kept in a cage for nearly three years, Dan-Dan has lost its ability to fly, Chen said, adding that it would take months or even a year for the crane to regain that ability before it can be released into the wild.

The rare bird is expected to be released into a wildlife reservation zone located in the Demilitarized Zone between South Korea and North Korea, when the Seoul Zoo celebrates its 100th founding anniversary, Chen noted.

In the Korean wildlife reservation zone, Dan-Dan is likely to replenish itself before flying to its original habitat — be it northeastern China, Siberia or China’s Jiangsu Province, Chen speculated.

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