The number of Upo crested ibis individuals, however, plummeted because of indiscriminate chemical use, habitat destruction etc. to be designated as an international protection species. In South Korea, the last individual was seen near Panmunjeom in 1979 and disappeared.
Upo crested ibis restoration project began by bringing in a male and female – Yangzhou and Longting – in 2008 and two males – Bice and Jinshui – in 2013. The 4 ibises were successfully restored to become over 300 individuals for 10 years of the project. Since 2017, in preparation for avian influenza (AI) and natural disaster, the ibises have been dispersed to and taken care of in monsoon centers.
In 2019, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of extinction of the crested ibis, 40 crested ibises were released into the wild. Approximately 40 crested ibises are released annually. As a result, you can spot crested ibises flying freely and feeding near the Upo Wetland.
The significance of restoring crested ibises is to restore livable habitats in Upo Wetland for crested ibises’ successful settlement to secure biodiversity and regain healthy ecological environment while producing safe foodstuffs for regional development and coexistence of nature and human in our society.