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Japanese netizens are abuzz about the way a power company dealt with an unwanted bird’s nest

Dale Roll May 20, 2019
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An Oriental Stork that made its home on an electricity pole caused a lot of trouble, but no one really minded.

With climate change and human interference threatening animal habitats and ecosystems all over the world, many people are starting to make eco-friendly changes in their lives in an effort to help preserve them. Although Japan is somewhat notorious for its unnecessary overuse of plastic, as well as its dirty beaches, the people and government put a lot of effort into preserving the beauty of the natural environments here, such as designing farms in a way to preserve biodiversity.

A recent incident with an Oriental Stork that built its nest in an inconvenient place is another example of Japan’s regard for nature. The Oriental Stork is a bird that used to be found all across Japan, China, Korea, and Russia, but is now endangered due to the use of pesticides in the rice farming industry.

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A post shared by 沖野智美 (@tomomi.okino)

So when Hokuriku Electric Power Company found that one had built a dangerous nest on top of an electrical pole–where wires meet and the risk of electrocution is high–they had to take quick action.

But it’s generally not advised to move a nest, especially if there is a bird sitting on it, as there was on this nest. So what did Hokuriku Electric do? Why, completely reroute the electricity in that area, of course.

コウノトリが北陸電力の電柱上に営巣を行いました。地元の皆さまからの要望もあり、停電防止及びコウノトリの感電防止のため配電系統の変更工事を実施しました。ヒナの誕生を期待し、今後も見守り対応を継続します。 pic.twitter.com/mpJi14xNcL

— 北陸電力株式会社 (@rikudenOfficial) May 10, 2019

Apparently people in the local area wanted to protect the birds from getting electrocuted, and the company wanted to avoid the possibility of blackouts to that area, so to solve this precarious problem, they completely changed the system of distribution for the electricity. All for the sake of an endangered bird!

Japanese Twitter users were impressed with the move, and the thread under the company’s tweet was full of praise for the decision.

“What a nice world.”
“To the local people and the power company, thank you!”
“Such a handsome bird!”
“I hope they have lovely little chicks.”
“I applaud your excellent decision!”

Hokuriku Electric is also not the only company to be kind to wild birds; Keio Railways also made life easier for Japanese swallows recently, and the Japanese police have been known to help ducks cross the road. Now that’s the kind of news we like to hear!

Source, featured image: Twitter/@rikudenOfficial
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[ Read in Japanese ]