At 5 pm on March 4, 60 red ibises reached their new home in Louguantai, at the northern foot of Qinling Mountain in Shaanxi Province in Northwest China, after a long journey from Yang County in the southern foot of the mountain.

Since then, the rare birds have begun to adapt to the new home they share with other State-protected wild animals such as snub-nosed monkeys, takins, pandas, and Crossoptilon mantchuricum.

The adult red ibis, which is indigenous to East China, Japan, Korea and Russia, can be identified by its red bare face, long, dark brown beak and white feathers.

Unfortunately, environmental deterioration has caused the number of red ibises to plummet dramatically.

By the 1970s, the species was nearly on the verge of extinction.

In May of 1981, Chinese ornithologists long dedicated to the study of red ibises finally discovered seven of the rare birds in Yang County.

With the help of the local government, scientists built a protection centre for red ibises in Yang County and continued their studies of the species.

Their hard work resulted in many achievements, particularly their success with artificial incubation of red ibises in 1989.

So far, their numbers in China have reached over 300.

With the increasing number of red ibises sent to the protection centre, the facility became inadequate. Thus, experts from the Shaanxi Breeding Study Centre of Rare Species started early last year to look for a more suitable centre to foster the breeding of ibises. They eventually chose Louguantai, which was a habitat for red ibises about 50 years ago.

Louguantai's natural conditions and convenient location make it a favourable habitat for red ibises and an ideal place for conducting scientific research.

Invested with 340,000 yuan (US$40,900), a new breeding ground for the 60 red ibises has been built in Louguantai that is devoted to breeding, nurturing and protecting one of nature's precious but endangered species.

( China Daily March 8, 2002)