Department of Information and Tourism, Taipei City Government

To help infuse new blood into the spoonbill community of Tokyo’s zoo, Taipei Zoo Director Jason Yeh announced that the institution will be sending a male Black-faced Spoonbill to Japan.
According to Yeh, Taipei Zoo and Tama Zoological Park of Tokyo signed a friendship agreement in November of 2004. The local zoo received a pair of Red Panda from Tama zoo; in exchange, Taipei Zoo provides knowledge and support to help preservation and conservation efforts of Black-faced Spoonbills conducted by the Japanese institution.
The candidate – a male Black-faced Spoonbill named ‘Happy’ – is in the care of Taipei Zoo. In 2002, a birdwatcher found Happy grounded in a rice paddy. Due to the lack of facilities, the Yilan County Government delivered the wounded bird to the zoo’s animal care center.
Despite the effort of avian vets, Happy nonetheless lost one of his wings and flight abilities. The authority decided to move Happy to the zoo’s Bird World display area in July of 2003. During a visit to the zoo last year, Professor Chung Jong Ryol of Japan’s Korean University suggested that Happy could contribute to the species’ conservation project in Japan.
Tama Zoological Park is one of the biggest zoos in the Tokyo area, spanning approximately 52 hectares. The zoo is also the first in Japan to raise Black-faced Spoonbills.
Black-faced Spoonbills are endangered species requiring urgent conservation actions. Since 1987, Japan and Korea have collaborated to carry out captive breeding projects. The addition of Happy would be important to the growing colony of Black-faced Spoonbills at Tama Zoo.