Kanpur, Mar 26 (IANS): The sarus, which was lost and then found in the Samaspur Bird Sanctuary of Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur district after being taken away from a man who had rescued the injured bird, a year back, has been taken to the Kanpur zoo where it will remain quarantined for a fortnight, zoo officials said.

Zoo officials added that the sarus will remain quarantined for a fortnight after which it will be decided where it is to be kept.

K.K. Singh, principal conservator of forest, said that the sarus was brought by a team of Lucknow zoo under strict medical supervision.

"The bird has been quarantined for 15 days. A team of doctors are keeping a close watch and have started its treatment," he added.

The sarus hit the headlines when it was found that a local named Mohd Arif had rescued it from a field last year, nursed it back to health and the bird was staying with him.

Arif claimed that he had tried to leave the bird in the wild but it came back to him each time.

Unconfirmed sources, meanwhile, said that Arif was being served a notice for violation of the Wildlife Protection Act.

The sarus is one of the tallest of all flying birds growing up to a height of six feet. It is the state bird of Uttar Pradesh.

According to the Wildlife Act, it is illegal for individuals to keep sarus.