A crested ibis looks after fledglings in Yangxian county, Shaanxi province.
More than four decades of protection has seen China's crested ibis population climb from seven to more than 9,000. The global total now exceeds 10,000, a provincial forestry bureau official told a conference in Hanzhong, Shaanxi province, on Thursday.
The rare bird was once widely distributed in East Asia, but its numbers declined due to the effects of environmental pollution and human activities.
In 1978, a team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Zoology led by ornithologist Liu Yinzeng traveled more than 50,000 kilometers to more than 260 known former habitats in several provinces in an attempt to find crested ibises, which were feared to be extinct in the wild. In 1981, they discovered a pair of adult crested ibises nesting with three chicks in a tree in Shaanxi's Yangxian county, and two older ibises nearby.
The protection of the species was stepped up in 1990, when the Crested Ibis Captive Breeding and Conservation Center was established in Yangxian to increase its population and genetic diversity.
The center developed artificial breeding techniques for the bird, including artificial insemination, hatching, chick rearing and training.
In 2004, China launched a program to reintroduce crested ibises into the wild in Yangxian. The released birds adapted well in the wild and mated and reproduced with the wild population.
Multiple wild-release programs have since been conducted in provinces including Shaanxi, Gansu and Hubei, with the population in Shaanxi alone now 6,654.
Trump accepts a VP debate but wants it on Fox News. Harris has already said yes to CBS
China Issues List of Universities for Top
Tibet Helps over 690,000 Farmers, Herders Find Jobs in 2021
2022 Beijing Media Center Opens
OpenAI pauses ChatGPT voice after Scarlett Johansson comparisons
China Launches Campaign Against Women, Child Trafficking
China to Further Strengthen Protection of Historical, Cultural Heritage
Folk Artists Put on Performance to Celebrate Upcoming Spring Festival in SW China's Sichuan
Biden says Brown v. Board of Education ruling was about more than education
China to Further Strengthen Protection of Historical, Cultural Heritage
Not so Cool Britannia! Noel Gallagher gives damning verdict on Keir Starmer
Team China Wins Bronze in Women's 3000m Relay