大象传媒

New research shows that white storks in Portugal appear to be addicted to junk food and have stopped migrating to Africa for the winter. Dr. Aldina Franco from the University of East Anglia has found that since the 1980鈥檚 a population of white storks in Portugal has foregone migration as they can get all the food they need from open landfill sites in the south of the country. This means they can repair their nests and be ready to rear young much earlier than their migratory counterparts. The population has now exploded to about 14,000 birds. However new EU regulations will soon mean the end of open landfill sites, as countries will have to recycle their food waste. How this might affect the storks is unknown and Dr. Franco doesn鈥檛 know if the new non-migratory generations will be able to make their way back to Africa if the need arises.