Chinese scientists have succeeded in getting a pair of white ibises to adopt a newborn crested ibis in what they believe is the first successful adoption of this animal in the world.
The scientists put a crested ibis egg in the white ibis nest about three months ago at the Beijing Zoo, and the baby ibis hatched after 30 days, the Beijing Morning Post reported.
At almost eight weeks old, the little bird is in a sound condition and scientists hope its adoptive parents will teach it how to adapt to life in the zoo.
"The successful experiment offers a new way of saving the endangered species," said Ding Changqing, an expert from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The population of crested ibises in the wild is expected to be restored within five years, a prospect which once was considered impossible.
A crested ibis is one of the most endangered bird species; only seven crested ibises were found in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province in 1981.
At present the number of crested ibises have reached 400 thanks to the efforts by Chinese scientists over the past two decades. All the ibises existing in the world belong to the non-migratory type. Migratory ibises are extinct.
As most of the 400 ibises live in a small area of Yangxian County in Shaanxi Province, the species could be exposed to great danger if any disaster occurred in the vicinity.
(China Daily August 7, 2002)
