Undated file photo shows a white-shouldered Ibis in a wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia. Cambodia has recorded the highest-ever number of critically endangered white-shouldered Ibis in the Sambo Wildlife Sanctuary in northeastern Kratie province, Neth Pheaktra, secretary of state and spokesman for the Ministry of Environment, said on Tuesday. (MoE/WWF-Cambodia/Handout via Xinhua)
PHNOM PENH, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has recorded the highest-ever number of critically endangered white-shouldered Ibis in the Sambo Wildlife Sanctuary in northeastern Kratie province, Neth Pheaktra, secretary of state and spokesman for the Ministry of Environment, said on Tuesday.
The white-shouldered Ibis is a relatively large bird species, classified as Critically Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
The wildlife research team of the Ministry of Environment and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), with the participation of members of the local community, last week recorded a total of 330 white-shouldered Ibis with 17 roosting sites along the Mekong Flooded Forests in Sambo Wildlife Sanctuary, as their large bird monitoring effort continues as part of the national census, he said.
"This result represents the highest count ever recorded over the past 10 years in Cambodia's portion of the Mekong River," Pheaktra told Xinhua.
Meanwhile, in the Eastern Plains, the team recorded seven white-shoulder Ibis with 22 roosting sites, the spokesman said, adding that the monitoring of these critically endangered bird species is conducted every year from July to October.
He said the survey results from these sites will contribute to the national population estimate of white-shouldered Ibis for 2022.
According to Pheaktra, the Mekong Flooded Forests supports the second largest population of white-shouldered Ibis in Cambodia after Siem Pang Wildlife Sanctuary in northeastern Stung Treng province, with a total of 252 white-shouldered Ibis individuals recorded in 2021. ■
