This endangered crane and a farmer form an unlikely partnership

The beautiful white bird had made wetlands in northern Taiwan its home for almost a year since last December, after taking a wrong turn on a migratory route from Siberia to China. Photos: AFP

It has a Facebook page, two books and its own brand of rice. A Siberian crane that landed in Taiwan after getting lost on migration over a year ago even made international headlines when it was found wandering outside a train station.

But to conservationists, the crane is more than just a flash-in-the-pan media star. It is a godsend in their push for environmentally friendly farming as the island’s birds suffer at the hands of development and pollution.