A rare bird may become extinct in Syria because of the capture of Palmyra by Islamic State, experts say, reports.
A tiny breeding colony of the northern bald ibis was found near the city in 2002.
Three birds held in captivity were abandoned last week after their guards fled the fighting. Their fate is unknown.
Officials have offered a reward of $1,000 (£646) for information about the whereabouts of a fourth bird.
The Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon told the BBC that finding the missing female, called Zenobia, is crucial.
She is the only bird who knows the migration routes to wintering grounds in Ethiopia and without her other captive birds cannot be released.
Then the species could go extinct in the wild in Syria, said ornithologists.
“Culture and nature they go hand in hand, and war stops, but nobody can bring back a species from extinction,” said head of the society Asaad Serhal.
