First-ever GPS trial launched for critically endangered ibises

The Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCB) is conducting a trial of GPS tracking white-shouldered ibises. Four individuals will be released into their natural habitat in the coming weeks. The project aims to monitor their migration routes, study their daily foraging behaviour and gather data to support conservation efforts for this critically endangered species.

ACCB announced on June 29 that the GPS transmitters were fitted to the birds' legs earlier this month. The devices were donated by Zoo and Chateau Zlín–Lešná in the Czech Republic and travelled from Poland to the UK to Cambodia.

As this is the first time this type of tracker has been used on this species, they are trialling them for at least four weeks in their pre-release enclosures to ensure they work as expected and don't cause any discomfort to the birds. So far, researchers say everything is looking good and the birds are all set for their upcoming release.

The centre described the trial as a major milestone in the conservation of the species, which can only be found at ACCB and within their narrow wild range. Fewer than 700 adult individuals are thought to exist worldwide, with Cambodia home to the largest population.

In 2023, ACCB achieved another world first by successfully breeding the white-shouldered ibis in captivity, when the first chick hatched at the centre. The species is found mainly in northern and northeastern provinces of Cambodia, including Preah Vihear, Mondulkiri, Ratanakiri, Kratie and Stung Treng, as well as the floodplains surrounding the Tonle Sap Lake.