South Korea 'revived' extinct birds for 40 years

Thanks to the breeding programs, the storks are gradually revived and released back to nature in Korea after 4 decades.

Dozens of storks, endangered birds have disappeared in the wild environment in Korea, on 22 May for the first time released back to nature after four decades in an effort to restore pants. species. The captive individuals from a breeding program have been released in Upo wetland, about 350km southeast of Seoul.

Wild crested storks have not been seen in Korea since 1979. (Photo: Wenlc.cn).

Crested storks are engraved on the National Monument of Korea and are seen as a historical evidence during the Korean period under Japanese colonial rule. They were widely distributed on the Korean peninsula but disappeared in 1979 and were last seen in nature in the Demilitarized Zone dividing the peninsula.

Wild crested storks today are only found in Japan and China. They used to have a period of near-extinction, due in part to the overuse of pesticides that removed their food, until breeding programs were deployed.

Starting with a number of Chinese donated birds, the number of captive storks in Korea has reached 363 thanks to conservation efforts by conservationists. The Ministry of Environment said 40 of them were selected for reintroduction.

The stork, the scientific name Nipponia nippon, is also known as the Japanese stork. Adults are an average of 79cm long and weigh about 1.8kg. They like to live in wet areas and agricultural land, where there is plenty of food and tall trees to nest. The species is now classified as globally endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.