LenstoLens | Crested ibis, symbol of cooperation for protection of species among China, Japan and ROK

BEIJING, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The crested ibis, with its iconic red crest and long black beak, was thought to be extinct in China until seven wild birds appeared in Yangxian County, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, in 1981. 

In 2002, the Shaanxi provincial rare wildlife rescue base received 60 crested ibis raised at the discovery site of Yangxian. The state forestry authority transferred the rare birds to the rescue base at the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains near the provincial capital of Xi'an to carry out captive breeding.

In 2008, the crested ibis couple Yang Zhou and Long Ting arrived and settled down at the Upo Crested Ibis Restoration Center in Changnyeong as a gift from China to South Korea. Another two male crested ibises Jin Shui and Bai Shi were sent to South Korea in 2013. Years of hard work has seen over 500 offspring of the four crested ibises given birth to in South Korea, of which more than 300 were successfully released into the wild. In 2021, two crested ibis chicks were bred in the wild in South Korea, which is the first time in more than four decades that the birth of wild crested ibis was observed in the country.

In January 1999, Yang Yang and You You, the first pair of crested ibises gifted by China to Japan, arrived at Sado island off Niigata. Over the years, they played a significant role in saving and reestablishing the endangered crested ibis population in Japan. By the end of December 2023, there are 693 crested ibises in Japan. In 2019, Japan lowered the status of the birds from "extinction in the wild" to "critically endangered."

From the breeding base in the Qinling Mountains, the species dubbed "Oriental gem" is expected to soon reappear in more of its historical distribution areas in East Asia.■