Abstract: The red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) is a first-class national protected animal in China and has already been listed as an endangered species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list. In this study, the quantitative change and distribution status of captive red-crowned crane population in the recent years was first analysed using the data on the number of captive red-crowned cranes in ex-situ and in-situ protecting institutions. The relationship between captive and wild populations of red-crowned cranes, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of zoos (cage zoos, semi-open zoos, and open zoos) and nature reserves in protecting the red-crowned crane, was discussed. Finally, some suggestions on the captivity management of the red-crowned crane were put forward. As of December 2019, a total of 182 protecting institutions (157 zoos and 25 nature reserves) have been investigated in mainland China; 90 of these institutions had red-crowned cranes in captivity, with a total of 2 386 captive red-crowned cranes (1 176 in the zoos and 1 210 in the nature reserves) distributed in 28 autonomous regions, provinces, or municipalities of China. The average number of red-crowned cranes was significantly lower in cage zoos than in semi-open zoos (P<0.05) and in semi-open zoos than in open zoos (P<0.05). Overall, the average number of red-crowned cranes was significantly lower in zoos than in nature reserves (P<0.05). The facilities in the cage zoos are simple; in these zoos, red-crowned cranes are mostly used to attract tourists. However, this is not favourable for the protection of red-crowned cranes, and the semi-open zoos are also unable to carry out high-quality management of a large number of captive red-crowned cranes. On the contrary, the large sizes of open zoos and nature reserves and the domestication conditions of red-crowned cranes are conducive to the protection of captive red-crowned cranes. The wild population of the red-crowned cranes in China can be increased by domesticating and releasing the captive-bred population. Therefore, first, it is suggested that the red-crowned cranes in the cage zoos with poor feeding conditions should be introduced or incorporated into large zoos. Second, the feeding mode of captive red-crowned cranes should be changed into the free-range feeding type. Finally, it is also necessary to improve the feeding environment of young cranes and raise them separately.

Key words: red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis), number of captivity, distribution, protection