Oldest wild red-crowned crane dies in northern Japan at age 35

KUSHIRO, Japan - The oldest red-crowned crane known to be in the wild has died at the age of 35 years, apparently hit by a vehicle on a public road, according to government and other sources.

Protected under the cultural properties protection law, red-crowned cranes are found in Japan only in Hokkaido. They live for around 10 years on average, and researchers say the male bird may have been the world's oldest known wild bird of the species based on publicly available data.