The story of an unlikely friendship between a sarus crane and its rescuer Mohammad Arif from the Amethi district of Uttar Pradesh had garnered widespread attention, with videos of their special bond circulating on social media. Now, another tale of friendship between a man and a sarus crane has emerged from Mau, Uttar Pradesh. According to news agency ANI, it all started when Ramsamuj Yadav, a resident of Baraipar Malik Village, came to the aid of a starving bird while working in his field.

“I had found it (the bird) on the farm where I had fed it once. After feeding it twice initially, it started to come to me repeatedly. It roams around freely in the village,” According to Yadav, as quoted by the news agency.

Arif’s story had taken a sombre turn when the forest department intervened, relocating the crane to Kanpur zoo and booking the farmer under the Wildlife Protection Act.

Recently a video had gone viral on social media showing Arif’s visit to the Kanpur Zoo, and the saras crane’s excited reaction on seeing him.