▲ This photo, provided by the Incehon Spoonbill Network, shows the spoonbills in the Namdong Reservoir, Incheon. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

 

SEOUL, June 8 (Yonhap) -- The Incheon Spoonbill Network, announced on the 8th that about 60 spoonbills, a Natural Monument No. 205 has died in the Namdong Reservoir, Incheon.

According to the organization, about 60 chicks of spoonbills died one after another on an artificial island in the Namdong Reservoir, a breeding ground for spoonbills, from 13th May till 1st June.

The CCTV installed around the Namdong Reservoir showed a racoon walking over the fence and navigating through the artificial island.

The Incheon Spoonbill Network hypothesized that the raccoon approached for food as the water depth became shallow due to the accumulation of soil around the artificial island.

Previously, in 2019, the attack by raccoons killed the chicks and eggs of spoonbills, and so had a protective fence made. However, it has not been able to completely prevent the invasion of predators.

Spoonbill conservation activists has been arguing that the water depth around the artificial island should be increased by digging up the soil.

Namdong Reservoir is known to be a place where about 200 spoonbills, an internationally endangered species and natural monument No. 205-1, nest and breed every year.

"In order to prevent the invasion of terrestrial animals such as raccoons, it is necessary to increase the depth of water in the reservoir," said an official of the Incheon Spoonbill Network. "We will also continue to repair the fence."

 

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Haemin Kim.)

 

 

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