Editing Blue crane (section)

==Decline==
While it remains common in parts of its historic range, and approx. 26&nbsp;000 individuals remain, it began a sudden population decline from around 1980 and is now classified as vulnerable.

In the last two decades, the blue crane has largely disappeared from the [[Eastern Cape Province|Eastern Cape]], [[Lesotho]], and [[Eswatini]]. The population in the northern [[Free State Province|Free State]], [[Limpopo Province|Limpopo]], [[Gauteng Province|Gauteng]], [[Mpumalanga Province|Mpumalanga]] and [[North West Province (South Africa)|North West Province]] has declined by up to 90%. The majority of the remaining population is in eastern and southern South Africa, with a small and separate population in the [[Etosha Pan]] of northern [[Namibia]]. Occasionally, isolated breeding pairs are found in five neighbouring countries.

The primary causes of the sudden decline of the blue crane are human population growth, the conversion of grasslands into commercial tree plantations, and poisoning: deliberate (to protect crops)<ref name=nw>{{cite news |last1=Wildenboer |first1=Norma |title=Blue crane massacre |url=http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/blue-crane-massacre-1.1819128 |access-date=25 February 2015 |agency=IOL |publisher=Diamond Fields Advertiser |date=16 February 2015}}</ref> or accidental (baits intended for other species, and as a side-effect of [[crop dusting]]).

The South African government has stepped up legal protection for the blue crane. Other conservation measures are focusing on research, habitat management, education, and recruiting the help of private landowners.

The blue crane is one of the species to which the ''Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds'' ([[AEWA]]) applies.

Since October 2021, the Blue Crane has been classified as Moderately Depleted by the [[IUCN]].<ref name="iucn green status 31 October 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Craig, C.A. |author2=Scott, A. |author3=Scott, M. |date=2021 |title=''Anthropoides paradiseus (Green Status assessment)'' |volume=2021 |page=e.T22692109A2269210920213 |access-date=15 January 2022}}</ref>