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MONTHLY NEWS January 1999 China Presents Japan with a Pair of Ibises |
When Chinese President Jiang Zemin made
a trip to Japan in November 1998--the first Chinese head of state to visit
the country--he made a promise to present a pair of ibises to his hosts.
Ibises are on the verge of extinction. There is only one female left of the variety native to Japan, and even worldwide there are only about a hundred remaining. Mature ibises reach about 80 centimeters long and have white feathers with red foreheads and legs. The Japanese crested ibis was once widely seen around lakes and wetlands across the country. But by the middle of this century it had become an endangered species due to extensive land development, and its number continued to decline despite efforts to protect it. In 1952 it was designated by the national government as a protected species, and gained international protection in 1960. Efforts have been made in vain to breed the birds with a closely related Chinese variety. In 1995 the last surviving male, Midori, died. The sole remaining native ibis, Kin, is now too old to produce any offspring. The ibises President Jiang said he would present to Japan are Yo Yo (male) and Yang Yang (female). They were conceived artificially and born in 1996 at an ibis protection center in Shaanxi Province. The pair successfully mated in 1998 and five of their seven eggs produced healthy chicks. The protection center was established in 1986 as part of China's extensive efforts to save the birds from extinction. It says there are 136 ibises in China, including 67 in the wild and 52 at the center, which has succeeded in artficially breeding 38 birds so far.
Photo: Yo Yo and Yan Yan made their move to Japan on January
30. (Embassy of The People's Republic of China) |
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