Japanese rock ptarmigans, a bird species designated by the government as a special natural treasure, will go on public display from March 15 at Tokyo's Ueno Zoological Gardens and four other facilities nationwide, the Environment Ministry announced.
The showings aim to not only raise public awareness of the need to protect rock ptarmigans, but also to alleviate the birds' stress by moving them to open areas.
The species live high in the mountains of the Northern and Southern Japanese Alps, but have drastically decreased in population largely due to an increase in the number of foxes, crows and other predators, as well as contamination caused by hikers.
The Environment Ministry classifies the species as "endangered" on its red list, suggesting the birds face a high risk of extinction in the wild in the near term.
The ministry has run an artificial breeding program since fiscal 2015. Twenty-nine rock ptarmigans are being raised across five facilities: Omachi Alpine Museum in Nagano Prefecture, Toyama Municipal Family Park Zoo in Toyama Prefecture, Nasu Animal Kingdom in Tochigi Prefecture, and Ishikawa Zoo in Ishikawa Prefecture, in addition to the Ueno Zoological Gardens.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
