As many as 250 ibis, a kind of gem birds on the list of most endangered species in China, have been resettled on the remote Qinling mountains in northwestern Shaanxi Province so as to protect them from the bird flu epidemic, officials with the local forestry administration said on Tuesday.

The ibis formerly lived in a wildlife care center in the local Zhouzhi county and ibis protection station in the Yangxian county.

"The best protection is to keep them far enough from villages and other poultry and animals," said Wang Wanyun, an official in charge of animal protection in the forestry administration.

On Feb. 8, the Chang'an district of Xi'an city was confirmed as affected by the deadly H5N1 virus strain. The affected area is around 100 km from the protection station in Zhouzhi county.

Authorities had blocked the ibis raising fields on Feb. 2 and halted all the ibis shows, exhibitions, and animal exchanges. Management also stopped buying loachs, ibis' favorite food, from central China's Hunan and Hubei province after epidemic breakouts.

These rare birds now eat beef from local areas, said Wang.

Ibis remain in the top category of protection in China because of their tiny population. So far, there are over 500 ibis in China, a significant growth from only seven in the 1980s.

(Xinhua News Agency February 11, 2004)