Saving Endangered Birds

The crested ibis is a type of bird.

It has a pale body and a red head, as well as a long beak.

The bird is called "ttaogi" in Korean.

A long time ago, the crested ibis was common in East Asia.

But in the late 20th century, the bird completely disappeared in Korea.

The Korean government decided to bring back the species to the nation.

In 2008, it received one pair of the birds as a gift from China.

It then built a special center for the birds in Changyeong, South Gyeongsang Province.

Korean scientists carefully raised the endangered birds in the center.

Amazingly, they increased the number of the birds to over 369 in eleven years.

In May 2019, there was a special ceremony.

Forty of the crested ibises were sent back into the wild.

For the first time, the captive birds flew freely in Korea.

In the future, the center will continue to release more of the endangered birds.

Someday, the crested ibis will be a common sight in Korea again.

 

• crest  krest   산마루, 물마루   ibis  ˈaɪbɪs   따오기(새의 일종)

• pale  peɪl   창백한, 핼쑥한 ,  색깔이) 엷은[옅은/연한] (↔dark, deep)  /   창백[핼쑥/흐릿]해지다

• beak  biːk    (새의) 부리 (=bill)

• endangered  ɪnˈdeɪndʒərd    멸종 위기에 처한   endanger  ɪnˈdeɪndʒə(r)    위험에 빠뜨리다, 위태롭게 만들다