In Japan, a real-life phoenix rises from the ashes of extinction

[Resurgence]

The toki, a Japanese crested ibis, used to soar above the rice paddies of Japan’s Sado Island, feasting on small frogs and insects. But by 1981, the bird was nearly extinct after being decimated by overhunting and the use of pesticides. In 2003, the last wild-born toki in Japan died of old age. Now, nearly 20 years later, an estimated 480 toki have returned to Sado, saved by a rare success story in a world where one in eight birds globally are facing extinction.