Crested Ibises Return To Japan's Skies



(Do watch the ibises fly at around 1:30 into the video clip!)

Big news from Sado Island in Niigata prefecture! Crested Ibises have been returned to the wild after 27 years. NHK World explains:

The 10 crested ibises (5 male and 5 female) were bred at the conservation center on the island from birds sent from central China.

Japanese crested ibises used to be seen across Japan:

They became extinct as agricultural chemicals destroyed their food sources. They disappeared from the wild in 1981, when the last 5 were captured for breeding on Sado Island. Residents of Sado have been working to make a friendly environment for the ibises, such as by creating ponds where the birds can catch fish and insects.




I wish NHK would take this opportunity and explain in more detail why agricultural chemicals destroyed the habitat of these magnificient ibises. 20-30 years of turning rice fields into a toxic soup? Remember Rachel Carson?



I wish these 10 very dignified birds all the best in Japan (they are bred here at Sado, thanks to a gift from the government of China).

Comments

Pandabonium said…
Rachel Carson was a pioneer, if that's the right word, for bringing attention to pollution. I hope these beautiful birds thrive and we humans learn to live in ways that no longer threaten other species. Naive wish perhaps.
5:34 pm, September 28, 2008
Martin J Frid said…
A very good wish.

There is no such thing as a "naive wish". When we make a wish, the universe listens. It is when we stop making a wish that things start to unravel!

Naive comment perhaps - I am known to make them from time to time!?
11:17 pm, September 30, 2008
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