Endangered birds make a surprising return to Jilin
2016-06-17
Researchers at the Xianghai Wetland Nature Reserve in Jilin discovered a nest of the oriental white stork, an indication of the return of this endangered birds.
Staff at the reserve said the newly discovered nest contains more than two baby storks. Earlier this year, they found another nest of a couple of the endangered birds built on an iron pillar in the Xianghai reserve and it now is home to four chicks.
This particular species of stork, a large wading birds that lives mainly on fish, had been laying their eggs outside the Xianghai reserve from 2002 on, because of an insufficient food supply and changing environment. The area has suffered from repeated droughts over the past couple of years, leaving few swamps or wetland because they had shrunk by 90 percent.
Now, thanks to a replenishment project, the wetlands have come back to life and the wary old inhabitants have returned. According to one researcher, the oriental white storks use a "rotation" approach to chick raising, with one stork standing guard in the nest and caring for the baby while another one flies away hunting for food.
The breeding area itself is narrow. This species, which is considered endangered and protected in China, is thought to have about 4,000 - 4,500 in existence around the world.
