Japan’s Ibis, Celebrated in Classical Art, Near Extinction : Environment: Only one remains, a female that is the equivalent of 85 to 110 human years and no longer fertile.

They once lived in vast colonies throughout Japan. Now, only one Japanese crested ibis remains alive, alone on an island preserve.

The highly publicized near-extinction of the snowy-feathered, long-beaked ibis has focused attention on the country’s scores of other endangered species--and has prompted some soul-searching about the destruction of nature that has accompanied Japan’s economic growth.

The ibis, with its graceful walk and its 6-foot wingspan, has been depicted for centuries in Japanese scroll paintings and on sliding screens. Older Japanese recall how the gentle birds would approach children playing in parks.

“No one imagined that the ibis could become extinct,” said Ryuichi Yokoyama, a director of the Nature Conservation Society of Japan. “But now that we’ve realized it, it’s too late.”

Japan’s Environment Agency says 119 other species of birds are threatened in Japan, including 27 on the verge of extinction. In addition, 217 species of animals are threatened, it says.

Extensive land development and pollution of rivers are largely to blame, nature conservationists say. The ibis needs marshes to survive, but chemicals and detergents have polluted much of Japan’s marshland.

Even migrating birds are finding it difficult to find unpopulated areas to spend the winter.

Gan , or wild geese that migrate to Japan from Siberia, once wintered in large areas of Japan, but now 90% of the 20,000 who come each year are forced to congregate in a marsh 220 miles northeast of Tokyo.

Conservationists warn that Japan must stop neglecting wildlife in its push for economic development projects.

“We must pursue a way of living in symbiotic relationships with wildlife and prosper together,” said Tsunao Watanabe, assistant director of the wildlife preservation division at the Environment Agency.

Conservationists say they’re pleased that some communities have begun taking action as a result of the plight of the crested ibis.

The city of Morioka in northern Japan recently decided to buy 200 acres of privately owned forest land where a pair of golden eagles have nested since 1974.

“We wanted to act before it was too late,” said Takuo Osaki, a Morioka official. Only about 300 golden eagles are believed to exist in Japan.

In another case, developers of a large resort complex near Lake Tazawa, about 280 miles north of Tokyo, withdrew their plan after a survey by conservationists found a golden eagle living in the area, Yokoyama said.

The saga of the vanishing ibis took a melancholy turn in June when Feng-feng, a female Chinese crested ibis, was returned home to China’s Shanxi province after an unsuccessful attempt to mate her with Long-long, Japan’s last male crested ibis.

Feng-feng laid five eggs in April but all were unfertilized. Two weeks later, Long-long died of illness or old age.

Japan now has only one female crested ibis left, who is believed to be the equivalent of 85 to 110 human years of age and no longer fertile.

About 50 crested ibises survive in China, all living in captivity or dependent upon conservationists.

“The fate of the crested ibis has helped raise Japanese awareness of the need to protect wildlife,” said Ryo Tachikawa, professor of environmental policy at Ehime University. “But the changes are likely to come very slowly.”