On the evening of April 24, an unusual sight occurred in downtown Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, when two red-crowned cranes—classified as a first-class protected species in China—were spotted strolling through city streets.

Dashcam footage captured the moment the two cranes descended from the sky, gliding at low altitude before landing on a main road. According to eyewitnesses, one crane flew off shortly after, while the other remained by the roadside, appearing to have a wing injury. It was also seen wearing a leg tag. The injured crane calmly paced through traffic, with passing vehicles slowing down to avoid it, drawing crowds of onlookers.

Zhao Yongqiang, director of the Bird Research Center at the Yancheng Rare Bird Nature Reserve, explained that the reserve had been conducting a rewilding training session for red-crowned cranes along the coast of Xinyang Port in Tinghu District that day. The goal was to help captive-bred cranes adapt to natural environments. However, strong winds disrupted the flight of five cranes, with two accidentally making their way into the city while the other three circled briefly and returned to the reserve on their own.

"The crane that remained had a minor wing scrape, likely from a collision during flight," Zhao said. After receiving reports, the reserve quickly coordinated with Yancheng Wetland Botanical Garden to locate the birds. By that night, all five cranes had been safely recovered and are now in good health.