Morioka-Bred Golden Eagle Chick Set for Release in Japan’s First Reintroduction Project
The multi-year effort uses a remote “hacking hut” to teach captive-bred eagles to fend for themselves.
Overview
- The endangered Japanese golden eagle chick born at Morioka City Zoo will be released in Minamisanriku under a new wild reintroduction program.
- The bird will be moved to a mountain “hacking hut” to acclimate before a planned release around mid-June.
- Tama Zoo has already transferred a 57-day-old female to the project, which is now training the bird for a trial release.
- Organizers selected the Morioka chick after eggs at another facility failed to hatch this season.
- The three-year plan schedules three staged releases to bolster a national population of about 500 birds with declining breeding success.