Natural Monuments of South Korea

Natural monuments of South Korea
Hangul	천연기념물
Hanja	天然紀念物
Revised Romanization	Cheoneongineommul
McCune–Reischauer	Ch'ŏnyŏnkinyŏmmul

This is a partial list of natural monuments of South Korea. By 2009 a total of 576 animal, plants, landforms, geological formations, and nature reserves had been designated by the Cultural Heritage Administration of South Korea as natural monuments. Only 404 of these continue to maintain their designation.

The body's length of black stork is 96 cm and the head and the neck, the upper chest and the back are glossy black. The bellt is white and the bill, the legs and the eyesides are red. The young bird totally has a blurred color mixed brown. This bird inhabits rice fields, riversides or small valleys and lives single and couple. It builds a nest on the top of a remote high tree or on the twig of rock cliff and lays 3~5 white eggs.The black-headed stork is designated and is conserved as a Natural Monument because it is a winter migrant which rarely comes out from September to October and from January to February in Korea.

The carapace is brown, measuring 20-25 cm long and shaped like an elongated oval. The edges are smooth with a yellowish-green band around the edges and a faint black pattern, which is unusual. There is a low ridge down the back, which is covered in small black scales with uneven vertical lines at the ends of the sides. The four limbs are covered in wide scales. The turtle lives in freshwater and is omnivorous, eating fish, crustacea, and aquatic plants. Between June and August it digs a hole in the sand and lays 5-15 eggs. This turtle often appeared in old folk paintings, as it was once a very common reptile in rivers around the country. Numbers, however, are dropping rapidly due to pollution and modification of river habitats, collection of aggregate from rivers, diminishing of forests, and spread of foreign species (i.e. red-eared slider). In addition, the number has dropped further through uncontrolled hunting of the turtles for use in folk remedies and herbal medicine. The turtles are said to be good for nutrition, strength and vitality.

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