Buổi 82: Reading – T/F/NG + flow-chart completion (đưa loài chim trở lại tự nhiên)

Bringing the blue crane home

(Bài đọc tự viết; loài chim, dự án và số liệu là giả định.)

A Thirty years ago, the blue crane – a tall wading bird with grey-blue feathers – disappeared from the river valleys where it had once been common. Habitat loss was the main cause: wetlands had been drained for farming, and the birds had nowhere to feed or breed. For two decades, the species survived only in a handful of zoos.

B In 2014, a team of conservationists began a project to return the crane to the wild. The first step was to find out whether a suitable habitat still existed. After surveying more than forty sites, the team chose a restored wetland where water levels could be controlled and where predators such as foxes were relatively few.

C Next, birds had to be bred in captivity. Eggs were collected from zoo populations and hatched in incubators. To prevent the young cranes from becoming too used to humans, keepers wore loose grey costumes and fed the chicks using puppets shaped like adult cranes’ heads. This was considered essential, because birds that are not afraid of people are far less likely to survive in the wild.

D When the young birds were about four months old, they were moved to a large pen inside the wetland. This “soft release” allowed them to get used to their new surroundings while still being protected. Only after several weeks were the gates opened. Each bird was fitted with a small tag so that researchers could monitor its movements.

E The early results were mixed. In the first year, only around half of the released birds survived, mainly because of predators. The team responded by building fences around the release area, and survival rates improved considerably. By 2024, the wild population had reached about sixty birds, roughly twice as many as in 2020, and several pairs had begun breeding on their own.

F The project leader, Dr Ines Morel, is cautiously optimistic. “The crane is no longer extinct in the wild,” she says, “but sixty birds is still a fragile population. One bad winter could undo years of work.” She believes that long-term success will depend less on releasing more birds than on protecting and expanding the wetlands themselves.

2026 sustainability summary – Lotus Logistics (văn bản giả định)

This year we planted 2,000 trees with a local conservation group and reduced office paper use by 35%. Staff completed 480 volunteer hours. Our target for 2027 is to switch 30% of delivery vans to electric. We have not yet achieved our goal of zero landfill waste.