The reporter learned from the Gansu Zhangye Heihe Wetland National Nature Reserve Management Bureau that the rare bird painted ibis, which was once considered to be extinct in China, appeared in the reserve, which is the first time that the traces of colored ibises have been recorded in the scope of the reserve.
Colored ibises appear in Zhangye Heihe Wetland National Nature Reserve (Photo by Shan Guofeng, Protected Area Management Bureau)
Guo Jianping, director of the Zhangye Heihe Wetland National Nature Reserve Management Bureau, introduced that the spotted colored ibises appeared in the high platform section of the reserve. After a week of observation and close-up photography, only one painted ibis has been found in the area.
The painted ibis is a national-level key protected wild animal, mainly inhabiting shallow lakes, swamps, ponds, wetlands and other freshwater waters. According to the data, the number of colored ibises in China is very small, and the Red Book of Endangered Animals in China once declared that it was extinct in China.
In recent years, Zhangye City has focused on improving the habitat environment of wetland wild animals and plants through the implementation of projects such as ecological protection and restoration of landscapes, forests, lakes and grasses, wetland ecological protection and restoration, and the implementation of projects such as dredging of wetland water systems, dredging of lakes and ponds, breeding and stocking, restoration of ecological rivers, and restoration of habitats, providing good conditions for migratory birds to migrate and stay. (Reporter Wang Bo)
Source: Xinhua News Agency