Oriental Stork Chicks Begin Hatching Across Hyogo

Mar 22, 2026 | News On Japan

HYOGO, Mar 22, 2026 (News On Japan) - The breeding season for the Oriental stork, a nationally designated Special Natural Monument, has begun, with chicks being born one after another in Hyogo Prefecture.

The first chick of the season nationwide was confirmed on March 15th in Awaji City, Hyogo Prefecture.

In Toyooka City, parent birds have also been observed taking turns incubating their eggs.

Yoshizawa Takuyoshi, a keeper at the Hyogo Park of the Oriental White Stork, said, "It really feels like the breeding season has finally begun, and there’s a sense of excitement that spring has arrived."

The Oriental stork was declared extinct in the wild in 1971, but efforts centered around the Hyogo Park of the Oriental White Stork in Toyooka City have been underway to restore its population in the wild.

As a result of these conservation efforts, the Ministry of the Environment announced on March 17th that it has lowered the species’ risk of extinction by one level.

Source: KTV NEWS

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