Japan to ship 16 crested ibises to China, following breeding agreement

According to reports from Kyodo News, Japan has agreed to send 16 endangered Japanese crested ibises, born in Niigata Prefecture, to China later this month. This move is believed to potentially improve Japan-China relations.

Sources indicate that the 16 ibises include 7 males and 9 females, all born between 2016 and 2022 at a conservation center on Sado Island, and they will be sent to a zoo in Beijing.

The Japanese crested ibis became extinct in the wild in 2003. Since 1999, China has been gifting ibises to Japan for artificial breeding. Under the agreement, Japan is required to return half of the ibises bred through this program to China. Since March 2002, Japan has transferred 47 ibises to China, which was paused after 2016 due to avian influenza and the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of the end of last year, Japan estimated there were 532 wild crested ibises, with approximately 160 being raised in various facilities.

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