He saved the life of a wild crane and the bird never left his side

The unusual friendship between a man and a wild bird surprises everyone in India. Even the experts, who they cannot understand the incredible behavior of the animal. Thus the man became something of a celebrity in the Asian subcontinent.

This unique story of friendship began in February last year in the village of Mandka in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. There, Mohammed Arif, a 30-year-old combine operator, found a seriously injured sarus crane.

The bird, Arif later recounted, was bleeding from its leg and seemed to be in great pain, so the young man picked it up and carried it home, where he began to nurse her back to health.

It took a while, but the red-necked crane made a full recovery. so arif decided it was time to let her go again and that the bird finally regains its freedom. And so he did, but something happened.

It so happened that when it was time to release it, the bird did not go away but stayed with its savior. And since then, the crane has never been separated from Arif; and so they established a very special relationship.

“The bird was bleeding profusely on the right leg and I could tell that I was in a lot of pain”, Mohammed said about the day he met his feathered friend.

“Without thinking twice, I picked it up and took the bird home. I put medicine on his leg and applied a poultice by taping a bamboo stick and covering it with bandages,” she added.

“I have an outhouse, basically a shed with a tin roof and that was where the bird was”.

During his recovery, the bird mingled with pet birds in Arif’s yard while he was at work, but as soon as the man got home, immediately the bird approached himasking her to hug him and share his food.

Already in April the bird, which Arif named “Bachcha”, made a full recovery, but refused to fly to its freedom and he preferred to be with his best friend.

“Life has never been the same since” said Mohammed. “Now wherever I go, the sarus is with me like a family member,” he added.

“When I’m at work with the combine, the bird takes a walk across the fields and then we both had lunch togethers, before going home in winter.”

The man added that during the winter, other sarus cranes visit Bachcha and play together, but even if they eventually fly away, their feathered friend always remains.

Sometimes when Arif leaves the house on his motorcycle, the tow truck flies with him and… It can keep up at speeds between 30 and 40 kilometers per hour.

“My work takes me to different places and I like the looks my Bachcha and I get while you ride 40 or 50 kilometers a day,” Arif said.

It’s interesting, himThe crane has eyes only for Mohammed Arifthe man who nursed her back to health.

Not so with Arif’s family. Although Bachcha has been close to the man’s wife and children for over a year, they dare not approach.

In fact, whenever his wife tries to get close to the bird or even bring him food, the bird attacks him to keep him at bay.

Wildlife experts describe the relationship between Bachcha and her human savior as very unusualas sarus cranes are known as the least social crane species.

“They are very protective when nesting and can be very aggressive against intruders who get too close.”