Ibis population in the wild in Japan declines for the first time since release started in 2008. As of December last year, the number of Japanese crested ibises, a special natural monument, was estimated to be 532.
Overhunting, and efforts to artificially breed the ibis in Sado City, Niigata Prefecture, has led to the decline in the numbers of the crested crested Ibis. The number of ibises has continued to increase since 2008, when the birds were released, but now the numbers have started to decrease.