Photo/Illutration Yuki Arakawa poses with a female rock ptarmigan at the Nasu Animal Kingdom zoo in Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture, on Dec. 25, 2022. (Provided by Nasu Animal Kingdom)

NASU, Tochigi Prefecture--Despite her relatively young age, Yuki Arakawa was a natural to lead a delicate government project to revive the population of the rock ptarmigan, a designated special natural treasure.

Now 30, Arakawa was singled out for the position in 2020, when she was in her sixth year working at the Nasu Animal Kingdom zoo here.

In summer 2021, the zoo, which is as big as 10 Tokyo Domes, received seven wild rock ptarmigans from the Central Japan Alps as part of a project commissioned by the Environment Ministry.

A year later, the team had managed to increase the number of birds to 19 and released them into their home habitat.

A follow-up survey conducted in autumn that year showed that nine of them were alive.

It was the first time that zoo-born chicks of an endangered species indigenous to Japan were successfully released into the wild.

Arakawa kept working on the project even after returning home from work.

She constantly watched a live camera feed on her smartphone of the birds’ nests. She rushed to the scene when she saw signs of sudden change, even if it was early in the morning or she was off duty.

“I saw chicks in my dreams,” Arakawa said.

As she observed the gestures of the mother birds, Arakawa learned how they communicated through their chirps.

For example, the mothers made certain sounds when teaching their chicks what could be eaten. Other sounds were warnings.

She shared her knowledge with other team members.

Before the 19 birds were released into the wild, Arakawa put the chicks and their mothers in cardboard boxes and loaded them on a helicopter.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she saw them off.

She couldn’t help but think about how hard everyone worked for that moment.

Born in Fukushima Prefecture, Arakawa dedicated herself to research on crows at Utsunomiya University in the Tochigi prefectural capital.

“They are considered a nuisance, but they play the role of a cleaner bird in nature,” she said. “No other birds are as smart as them. On closer look, they are cute.”

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