Rock ptarmigans airlifted to Central Alps for Japan’s first release from captivity

Nagano – A helicopter carrying 19 rock ptarmigans left a zoo bound for the Central Alps on Wednesday in the first attempt to return the extinction-threatened alpine bird to the wild in Japan.

Nasu Animal Kingdom in Tochigi Prefecture, where the ptarmigans have been bred and raised, said the birds were headed for the 2,956-meter Mount Komagatake in Nagano Prefecture, the highest peak in the Central Alps and part of the mountain range known as the Japanese Alps.