You likely know the red-crowned and white-naped cranes as the graceful, long-legged avians that grace Asian artwork throughout history. But if numbers of these birds keep declining, art may be the only way we can see them anymore – the red-crowned crane is now endangered, while the white-naped crane is listed as vulnerable. Thankfully, there is one last bastion of habitat where both cranes mingle together: the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the strip of land between North and South Korea that's off-limits to people, created during armistice negotiations for the Korean War.
RELATED CONTENT
The Animal Cost of War
Beyond the Joint Security Area (one of the few spots tourists are allowed to visit at the DMZ), the landscape in the safe zone—stretching about a mile in either direction from the border and covering about 155 miles between the two countries—has sat untouched for the past 65 years, surrounded by barbed wire and watched over by thousands of soldiers on both sides. Before the Korean War, much of the DMZ, particularly the low wetland areas, was cultivated farmland. But where people are unable to go, nature has a tendency to take over, and the DMZ, which varies dramatically in landscape from mountains to marshes, has morphed into an unexpected haven for rare wildlife. According to the Republic of Korea Ministry of Environment, 5,097 animal and plant species have been identified in the area, including 106 that are labeled as endangered or protected.
