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Nearly 200 mandarin ducks, a natural monument of which only about 20,000 remain in the world, were spotted in the Jungnangcheon area of Seoul. It is very rare for mandarin ducks, which usually travel in pairs, to be found in groups in urban rivers. Analysis suggests this is because their habitat has declined.
This is reporter Jiwook Kim.
Birds with green heads and colorful brown feathers sit in groups on the stones.
This is a new mandarin duck that symbolizes the couple’s wedding.
About 200 mandarin ducks were recently spotted under the Seongdong Bridge in Jungnangcheon, Seoul.
Behind me, dozens of mandarin ducks swim on the water along with other migratory birds.
If you look a little closer, you can see a group of three or four mandarin ducks in a warm, sunny place.
Mandarin ducks, Natural Monument No. 327, are winter migratory birds, of which there are only known to be around 20,000 left in the world.
Mandarin ducks usually travel in pairs, so it is unusual for them to be found in large numbers in an urban river.
This is believed to be because the water in Jungnangcheon is clear and there is plenty of food near Seongdong Bridge.
[이승용/야생생물관리협회 조류 전문가 : 지금 수온이 굉장히 따뜻해요. 굴곡이 있잖아요. 이제 고기들이 치고 올라가는 상태에서 먹을 게 많고.]
However, some point out that spotting mandarin ducks in groups isn’t necessarily a good thing.
This is because the habitat has decreased as a result.
According to a survey by an environmental group, the total number of mandarin ducks seen across the Jungnangcheon Migratory Bird Sanctuary in Seoul last year was about 1,000, but fell to about 200 last year.
Analyzes show that green spaces and paths built along rivers have affected the habitat of migratory birds.
[최영/서울환경운동연합 생태도시팀장 : 물가와 가까운 곳에서 산책도 하고 하다 보니까 철새들 입장에서는 계속 경계를 하게 되는 거죠.]
Experts point out that preserving the disappearing mandarin ducks requires efforts to preserve their habitat.
(Video report: Kim Hak-mo, video editing: So Ji-hye, screen provided by: ornithologist Yun Moo-bu)
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