About Us
HOW WE BEGAN…
The Gruiformes Taxon Advisory Group initially was established in 1987 formally as the Crane TAG. At that time four crane SSP’s, (hooded, red-crowned, wattled, and white-naped) received program approval from AZA’s Wildlife Conservation Management Committee (WCMC).The first Masterplan secession for the four crane SSP’s was hosted at the Bronx Zoo, 2-3 May 1989.
By the mid 1990’s the Crane TAG evolved to encompass all eleven Gruiformes families. This document represents the first edition of a Regional Collection Plan (RCP) for this TAG. A review of the eleven Gruiformes families shows, as one might expect, that cranes have been and likely will continue to be a high priority in our collections.
AZA collections currently house all fifteen crane species to some reasonable population level. Conversely, three families, Mesitornthidae (mesites), Aramidae (limpkins), and Heliornithidae (finfoots) currently have no representation in any AZA institution. The remaining seven families; Turnicidae (buttonquail), Rallidae (rails), Psophiidae (trumpeters), Rhynochetidae (kagu), Eurypygidae (sunbittern), Cariamidae (seriemas), and Otididae (bustards) are represented, some to a greater degree than others..
Our mission statement
The mission of the Gruiformes Tag is to promote conservation through captive management, propagation, education, research, and engagement in in-situ support through cooperation with the relevant local and international Governments, NGO’s, specialist groups and Gruiformes TAG’s in other global regions.