By
Mengey Eng |
Views: 4339 | July 03, 2017
Today the Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCB) in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment (MoE) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) released a threatened Lesser Adjutant back to the wild in Kulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary, Preah Vihear Province after this Adjutant had been rehabilitated at ACCB for more than a year.
The Lesser Adjutant (Leptoptilos javanicus) is a large stork reaching 130cm in height with a wingspan exceeding two meters. Despite a global upper population estimate of 10,000 mature individuals, Lesser Adjutants are experiencing rapid population declines within their former range undergoing widespread contraction across Asia. As a result, it is listed as “Vulnerable” in IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species.
In June 2016, a villager found this Lesser Adjutant in bad condition in a forest near Tmatboey village. It was very weak and unable to fly, therefore the villager contacted WCS and it was sent to ACCB for treatment and rehabilitation. It was in an overall bad condition and had all flight feathers severely damaged. Now after one year, this adjutant is fully recovered and equipped to survive in the wild.
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