What's the cutest thing on the internet today? A video that captures the adorable bond between a biker, who reportedly saved the life of an injured sarus crane, and the bird. In the video which is now viral on social media, we can see a bird flying by the side of the human probably to thank him in its way.
Watch video:
Story behind the viral video
A tweet following this video narrated the story of why the bird could have decided to be the travel partner of the biker identified as Mohammed Arif, resident of a village in UP's Amethi.
A year in the past, Arif found the bird in his farm when it was in an injured state and he took to care of it. After recovery, the bird chose to stay with him instead of flying back into the woods, Arif can be heard saying in a video.
"I found this bird in a farm and brought it home for medication. I thought it will go away later but it got so attached to me that it follows me where I go on a bike. It keeps pace with my bike for 25-30 kms. When I come back from work in the evening, it shows its happiness by flying around me and playing with me & tried to poke me out of love. Its friends come to take him along but it shows fear & hides behind the veranda. It also follows my friends at times but when they go back home, it also goes back to my home."
Arif said the bird does not share a good relationship with his family members and tries to bite them. " The bird only believes in me and maybe I got it treated so by god's grace it wants to be around me only always."
The duo is seen as Jai-Veeru in the Amethi village.
Wildlife experts advise caution
Wildlife experts took cognisance of the viral video and told Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) that sarus cranes are 'wild' in nature and must be free from being domesticated. It was pointed out that the creature is regarded as the least social crane species.
Lucknow divisional forest officer Ravi Singh said that 'sarus' is a wild bird under the Wildlife Protection Act. The sarus must be allowed to live in the wild and cannot be domesticated and allowed contact with humans. A diet of insects, fish and pila must be given to the bird, Singh brought to notice after the video from UP took the internet by storm.
"We have a system to protect and nurture it, but one should be cautious. You cannot touch its wings or hold it near you. No human touch is allowed," he said while speaking to IANS.
