Upo Ttaogi Achieves First Wild Hatching in Changnyeong in 42 Years

First Wild Hatching Two Years After Release Following Last Year's Initial Breeding Attempt!

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Saeyan] The Oriental stork, a natural monument and a second-class endangered wild species, successfully hatched in the wild for the first time in Korea on April 26.

The storks that succeeded in hatching this time are a total of two pairs, one male and one female born in 2016.

Despite negative public opinions on the Oriental stork restoration project, a great achievement of successful wild hatching was accomplished through successful breeding and release.

The reason for the success of this wild hatching of the Oriental stork was due to selecting excellent individuals for release and the active efforts of the village residents.

In particular, Changnyeong-gun is promoting a base habitat creation project centered on locations with a high frequency of Oriental stork appearances to help their natural settlement starting this year.

In May 2019 and 2020, 40 storks each, totaling 80, were released into the wild, and currently, 50 storks (a survival rate of 62.5%) are surviving in the wild.

The Upo Oriental Stork Restoration Center plans to increase the number of female storks released, considering that the proportion of males among the storks currently surviving in the wild is higher.

A provincial official said, "We will continue efforts to preserve the ecological environment centered on wetlands such as Upo Wetland and to enable residents to coexist together."