Overview
- The Environment Ministry said the male bird died on November 24 at the Sado Toki Conservation Center in Niigata Prefecture and announced the death on November 26.
- Caretakers reported no abnormalities through November 21, then observed reduced feeding from November 22, and staff found the bird dead on November 24 around 3 p.m.
- Initial testing for avian influenza was negative and no collision marks were found, with the formal autopsy to be performed at a prefectural laboratory.
- Hatched in May 1999 from Chinese donor birds Yangyang and Youyou, Yuyu was the first crested ibis in Japan born through artificial incubation.
- As a breeding bird, he was the parent of 68 fledglings, reflecting his pivotal role in Japan’s recovery program for the nationally protected species.