Two eggs laid by oriental white storks naturally for the first time in 38 years in Japan are unlikely to hatch after they were found dislodged outside of the nest Wednesday, a breeding farm in Hyogo Prefecture said.
The chances of hatching became slim with the artificially bred birds no longer able to protect the eggs in the nest, according to the Hyogo Prefectural Homeland for Oriental White Stork.
One egg was found stuck between the nest and a 13-meter-tall man-made nest post. The other was found in a gap between branches of the nest.
Breeding farm officials said crows or other wild birds might have moved the eggs while the stork pair were away from the nest.
The farm will not return the eggs to the nest as they are those of storks that have been released to the wild, it said.
The storks were released into the natural environment last September.
