Death of a Wild Oriental White Stork and Its Cause^|^mdash;An Intra-specific Violent Interaction?

Abstract

Abstract.A wild male Oriental White Stork Ciconia boyciana was found dead on 27 February 2007. He appeared in August 2002, and was named Hachi-goro by residents of Toyo-oka City, among whom he was popular and where a reintroduction project of this species has been underway since 2005. Here we present ecological and veterinary evidence, and suggest that he was weakened greatly during a violent interaction and defeat to a released male, and that this resulted in his death soon after the interaction.