Last Wild-born Japanese Crested Ibis Dies

The last Japanese Crested Ibis (Nipponia nippon) born in the wild in Japan died at the Sado Japanese Crested Ibis Conservation Center on Sado Island, Niigata Prefecture on October 10, 2003. The female bird, named Kin, was about 36 years old, equivalent to an age of over 100 for humans.

With Kin's death, wild-born Japanese Crested Ibis went extinct in Japan. The extinction of the Japanese population of the species has been certain since 1955, when the last male born in Japan died.

The Japanese Crested Ibis was once found near human habitation, but its numbers dwindled due to excessive hunting since the Meiji Era (1868-1912) and habitat deterioration due to agricultural chemical use.

In 1945, it was designated as a nationally protected species in Japan. Five wild-born Japanese Crested Ibises were captured for a government artificial breeding project, but failed to produce any offspring.

Currently, the Sado Center is home to 39 Japanese Crested Ibises derived from the Chinese population of the species. Three of them were parent birds presented by China, and the others were born at the Center. On Sado Island, people are making efforts to grow rice without using agricultural chemicals so that they can return some of the Japanese Crested Ibises to the wild.



Posted: 2003/11/18 07:02:16 AM
Japanese version