Japan’s Ministry of the Environment has taken the red-crowned crane off its list of threatened species, downgrading it to near-threatened, The Japan Times reports. The change reflects a remarkable recovery for a bird that was once believed lost from the country.
Overhunting during the Meiji era was thought to have wiped the species out, until a few dozen birds were found living in the Kushiro Wetland of Hokkaido in 1924. By 1952 just 33 were recorded. The latest winter survey counted 1,927.
Much of the credit goes to local people in Tsurui village and the Akan district, who have fed the cranes through harsh Hokkaido winters for decades. The tanchō is a symbol of longevity and good fortune in Japan, and its comeback is one of the country’s most celebrated conservation successes.
Source: The Japan Times