Sacret Ibis

During the 1970s and 1980s several zoos thought it would be a good idea to establish free-flying population of Sacred Ibis but they took to the challenge rather...
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During the 1970s and 1980s several zoos thought it would be a good idea to establish free-flying population of Sacred Ibis but they took to the challenge rather well and free-living colonies became established. As many as 1,200 pairs were breeding in France in the early 2000s. Research has identified the Sacred Ibis as being of European concern as an invasive species and it is subject to a control and eradication programme. It is confiding of humans and adapts to urban situations with the offerings of human food wastage in bins and tips and it can be a voracious predator of scarce native wildlife: two birds ate all the eggs from 30 Sandwich Tern nests in the space of four hours. It breeds or has bred in the wild in France, Spain (since 1974), Portugal (since 1998), Italy (since 1989) and the Netherlands (since 2002).
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