For the first time in decades, a critically endangered bird has reproduced in the wild in South Korea, marking the latest crucial milestone in the species' remarkable revival.
Korea JoongAng Daily reported that three chicks were born in a rural township in South Gyeongsang province. The chicks are the first to be born in the wild since the species was declared extinct on the Korean peninsula in the 1970s and since the birds were rereleased into the wild in 2019.
"The successful natural breeding of wild ibises means they are now beginning to settle independently in nature," a local official said. "We will continue efforts to preserve the natural environment and manage the ecosystem so that the released ibises can thrive."
The crested ibis was once plentiful across China, Japan, Korea, and Russia's far east, but its numbers dropped sharply because of overhunting and habitat destruction. After a last-ditch effort by Japanese scientists to create a captive breeding program failed, it was thought the ibis was gone for good. Fortunately, seven ibises were found in China's Qinling Mountains, and those hardy survivors were the basis for the species' recovery, per the Natural Resources Defense Council.
The revived Korean population of crested ibis is descended from the Qinling survivors. China gifted South Korea a breeding pair of the birds in 2008 and another in 2013. Since then, almost 400 have been released into the wild in the hopes of creating a stable population once more.
The crested ibis is also making a comeback in Japan. Nippon.com reported that after the last wild crested ibis died in 2003, conservationists have worked for years to reestablish a population on Sado Island. Those efforts have paid off with nearly 500 ibises in the wild. The birds have more than paid back that investment as they now tend the rice paddies of Sado Island as natural pest control.
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The crested ibis' revival is a story of transnational cooperation between nations that historically haven't always seen eye to eye. Countries that work together on conservation issues tend to succeed. Reintroducing a species to an area is a complex and lengthy affair — and one that helps restore an area's crucial biodiversity.
Through local action and raising awareness, communities across East Asia are pitching in to create and protect the conditions the ibis needs to thrive once more.
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