40 Years On: A protector of crested ibis in Central China

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According to folklore, the ibis is the last bird seen before a hurricane strikes, and the first to be seen after. It used to be Japan's national bird. Well, these graceful creatures came dangerously close to extinction years ago. That is until one man in Xinyang stepped in. CGTN's Li Jianhua takes us to meet him.

The mountains above the Central Chinese City of Xinyang are home to some 700 crested ibises.

Huang Zhixue is an expert in crested ibis reproduction. We visited him to see the endangered species, which used to be Japan's national bird. Huang opens the gate gingerly as these birds are easy to scare, which is why we put on camouflaged clothing.

Cleaning up the groove is paramount to make sure these birds are healthy.

HUANG XUEZHI CRESTED IBIS EXPERT "There are about 2,000 Ibises in the world today. In 1981 we found seven of them in China; and since then, we have been working to save the species. Now we have over 2,000 globally."

These loaches would be their meal, but they never came down while we were there. Then we came to a "training center" for these birds, where they stay for about six months before they are released.

HUANG XUEZHI CRESTED IBIS EXPERT "We select some 20 adult birds each year – those over two years old. Here they train in scavenging, flying and defending. This is where the birds always come to scavenge for food. But not too many of them are here today."

Huang tries to find the ibises with his binoculars. The living conditions for these birds are quite demanding. Chemical substances we use can kill them.

HUANG XUEZHI CRESTED IBIS EXPERT "The survival rate is about 60 percent, which is quite high when it comes to setting these birds free in a foreign environment. This indicates the environment here is quite up to standard."

Towards the end of our visit, we saw some of them in the swamps looking for food. Huang and his team are eager to bring these endangered birds back to Nature. LJH, CGTN, LUOSHAN, HENAN PROVINCE.