Between the most representative animals of Japan there are the oriental stork, the tanuki, the Tibetan bear, the Bengal cat, the red fox, the Japanese macaque, the flying squirrel, the wild Japanese boar, the Ogasawara bat, and the Japanese serau.
Japan is not known for a high biodiversity index, since a large portion of its territory is urbanized.
Because of the human expansion and depredation of foreign animals, many of the animals that lived in Japan in the past are no longer found 1 .
Luckily, the Japanese government is serious about conserving endangered species and many species have been recovered.
Featured and endemic animals of Japan
Although Japan is an island, it is a relatively large country, with an area of almost 400 thousand square kilometers 2 . Its territory includes many islands, high mountains, and forests.
On the other hand, the country is highly urbanized. Therefore, their animals are usually relatively small and not very dangerous.
The oriental stork
The eastern stork is a bird with long legs, long beak, and white plumage. He prefers to live near water to hunt fish or other small-sized animals.
In Japan it was considered extinct in the 20th century, but the national government struggled to recover the population of these storks and thousands of these birds are now found in the country.
The Tibetan bear
The Tibetan bear is the largest land animal of the Japanese islands. Only the whales that live in their territorial seas outweigh this Asian bear in size.
Because of its black fur, it is also known by the name of"black bear."Oriental medicine highly values the medicines made from the body of this mammal, for which it is hunted by traffickers. 4 .
The Bengal cat
Like most of the animals on this list, the Bengal cat is distributed throughout Asia, not just Japan.
This wild cat looks like a small tiger, which gives it the nickname Leopard Cat 5 .
The red fox
As the name suggests, the red fox is reddish in color. It is a small animal compared to international foxes.
Like the tanuki, the red fox is the subject of the mythological fascination of the Japanese people.
The Japanese macaque
The Japanese macaque is noted for its rare tendency to bathe in thermal water lagoons during the cold months, which is why they are popularly called"snow monkeys."
He lives in the forests and mountains of Japan and is used to the cold temperatures that cover the island nation during the winter.
The Japanese flying squirrel
Despite the imaginative name, this squirrel can not fly - it only glides through the air as it jumps from the tall trees where it nests.
There are different species of this squirrel in Japan and they are very common throughout the country.
The Japanese wild boar
The Japanese boar is a wild boar that is small and gray. It has distinctive white mustaches.
The bat of Ogasawara
Ogasawara is a town near Tokyo whose government controls certain nearby islands.
The bat of Ogasawara lives in a group of islands under the command of the people called the Bonin Islands.
It is black and brown and feeds mainly on fruits and other plants.
The tanuki
Tanuki is a creature similar to the American raccoon and is sometimes called the"Mapuche dog."
It is important for Japanese culture, since it is a frequent character in the country's mythology. It is respected as a cultural animal and many Japanese maintain statues of the animal in their home to attract luck or supernatural protection.
The Japanese serau
The Japanese serau is similar to the goat and inhabits the Japanese forests.
It is considered an important symbol of the Japanese nation.
References
- Brazil, M. (June 7, 2014). Japan's Efforts Bring Back"Extinct"Species. Recovered from japantimes.co.jp
- Nations Encyclopedia. (2017). Japan - Location, Size, and Extent. Retrieved from nationsencyclopedia.com
- UnmissableJapan.com. (2013). Japanese Wildlife. Retrieved from unmissablejapan.com
- WWF Global. (2017). Asiatic Black Bear. Retrieved from wwf.panda.org
- Tsushima Wildlife Conservation Center. (2017). National Endangered Species Tsushima Leopard Cat. Retrieved from Kyushu.en.gov.jp