Wildlife of Japan

Biological hotspot of Japan

The islands that make up the Japanese Archipelago stretch from the humid subtropics in the south to the boreal zone in the north, resulting in a wide variety of climates and ecosystems. About a quarter of the vertebrate species occurring in this hotspot are endemic, including the Critically Endangered Okinawa woodpecker and the Japanese macaque, the famous “snow monkeys” that are the most northerly-living non-human primates in the world. Japan has a relatively high diversity of amphibians as well, with 75 percent being endemic to the islands

Wildlife of Japan – Wikipedia

About 130 species of land mammal occur in Japan. The largest of these are the two bears. The brown bear (Ursus arctos) is found in Hokkaid? where it plays an important role in the mythology of the Ainu people. The Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) inhabits mountainous areas in Honsh?, Ky?sh? and Shikoku. Smaller carnivores include the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) and Japanese marten (Martes melampus). There are two wild cats in Japan: the leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) of mainland Asia occurs on Tsushima Island while the Iriomote cat (Prionailurus iriomotensis) is unique to the island of Iriomote.

Grazing mammals include the sika deer (Cervus nippon), Japanese serow (Capricornis crispus) and wild boar (Sus scrofa). Among Japan’s most famous mammals is the Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata), the world’s most northerly monkey.

Marine mammals include the dugong (Dugong dugon), finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaeniodes) and Steller’s sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus).

Biodiversity Network Japan

Biodiversity Network Japan was established in 1991 by biologists, politicians, attorneys, journalists and citizens to disseminate and facilitate biodiversity conservation. Its mission is to conserve biodiversity through scientific research, policy advocacy, training, and dissemination of scientific knowledge.

Birds of Japan

Over 600 species of bird have been recorded in Japan and more than 250 of these breed.

List of Japanese birds

Japan’s Winter Wildlife @ National Geographic Magazine

The field is white and the wooded edges dark with evergreen. Out in the open in the fine snow of Hokkaido cluster the great white cranes, the black tertial plumes of their broad wings arranged over their rumps like elegant bustles. Known in Japan as tancho (red peak), the red-crowned is the second rarest crane species, after the whooping crane, with a world population of fewer than 2,500 birds. It is in other seasons fiercely territorial, but now the birds are gathered in one clangorous flock to scoop up the winter feed laid down for them by farmers.

See also

www.env.go.jp/en
Japan’s Ministry of the Environment – Basic environmental statistics about Japan. including:

Japan Wildlife Conservation Society

Conservation International – Japan
Friends of the Earth – Japan
Japan Center for Sustainable Environment and Society
The Nature Conservancy – Japan
Nature Conservation Society of Japan
Sea Turtle Association of Japan
Wild Bird Society of Japan

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