The globally endangered fledgling fledglings of a bigger species escaped from 175 nests on the Prek Toal Ramsar site in northwestern Cambodia’s Battambang province and were distributed across the country.
The nests were protected for six months by ecologists from the Cambodian Ministry of the Environment (MoE), the village of Prek Toal and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), in line with a WCS press release.
The greater stork species (Leptoptilos dubius) is the biggest species of stork on this planet, reaching 1.5 m in height, and is listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as an endangered species.
There are an estimated 800–1,000 mature individuals worldwide and 150–200 pairs in Prek Toal, the one known breeding site in Southeast Asia. It can be the second largest colony of adjutants on this planet, after the one in Assam, India.
“I am proud to work with my team to protect this rare bird, and I am glad that larger adjutants and other important waterbirds live and breed here safely,” said Chhan Chhoum, a former egg collector and nest keeper.
The site is the first freshwater wetland on Tonle Sap Lake and is well-known for its incredible biological, social and economic resources.
“Prek Toal is the most important waterbird habitat in Cambodia. More than 130 species of waterbirds live and breed in this area,” said Sun Visal, head of the waterbird monitoring and research team at WCS and the Ministry of Environment on the Prek Toal Ramsar site.
Source : Xinhua | Khmer times
