Chinese ornithologists have announced that the white stork, a species of crane on the priority list of government protection, has become extinct in China, Beijing Science and Technology News has reported.

The conclusion was made after a three-year national survey carried out by ornithologists from the Chinese Ornithological Society and Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Ornithologists attributed excessive reclamation and illegal crane capture over recent decades as the principal reasons for the extinction of this rare species.

However, the ornithologists stated, the white stork still existed in some neighboring countries. If the environment favorable for the living of white storks was restored, the white stork could be expected to return to China.

(Xinhua News Agency February 18, 2003)