Bird Protection

[Anchor Lead]

Efforts to restore white storks, a natural monument in Korea, will likely gain pace as white storks that have arrived in Korea from Russia and Japan are frequently being spotted together with birds that have been released to the wild in Korea. The efforts have been lauded for their success in the restoration of the species in East Asia.

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A white stork gobbles down its prey, a bullfrog, in the blink of an eye. Other birds chase each other to snatch away their prey. In a rare instance, 12 white storks including those that have flown from Russia in search of a warmer climate and those that were released to the wild in Korea have been spotted together.

[Soundbite] Oh Young-sang(Ecologist) : "The birds are moving southward because they cannot find food in northern regions, where water is frozen."

A flock of white storks was also spotted in a snow-covered wetland. The birds search for prey, moving slowly. One of them is a white stork marked 'A81'. It came from North Korea after spending 71 days there.

[Soundbite] Kim Dong-hyun(Birdwatcher) : "If white storks can find a lot of food and be healthy here, the A81 may even fly over to Japan."

Last winter, white storks were spotted more frequently than ever in various regions of Korea. Forty-four white storks were seen in about ten areas. Most of them were from Russia.

[Soundbite] Prof. Park Si-ryong(Korea National University of Education) : "If the birds that came from Russia do not return and instead mate with local birds, the genetic diversity of this species will improve further."

With more white storks spending winter on the Korean Peninsula, the efforts to restore the species have a higher chance of succeeding.