Native Japanese Animals “nihon doubutsu”

We are learning these things about native Japanese animals:  Their names  Their habitat  What they eat  Distinct characteristics

Japanese Macaque- Snow Monkey

 Habitat= The Japanese macaque is the nonhuman primate that lives in the most northern part of the world. It is found on three of the four main Japanese islands.  Diet= The Japanese macaque is omnivorous and will eat a variety of foods. Over 213 species of plant are included on the macaque's diet. It also eats insects and soil, fruit, leaves and seeds and fungi.  Distinct characteristics= The macaque has a pinkish face and bottom. ] The rest of its body is covered in brown, greyish, or yellowish hair. The coat of the macaque is well-adapted to the cold and its thickness increases as temperature decreases. The macaque can cope with temperatures as low as -20°C. They like to visit hot springs in winter to keep warm! ]

Japanese Macaque- Snow Monkey

Red Crowned Crane- The Dancing Bird

Red-Crowned Crane- The Dancing Bird  Habitat= a population is found in eastern Hokkaidō in Japan. This species nests in wetlands and rivers. In the wintering range, their habitat is mainly paddy fields, grassy tidal flats, and mudflats.  Diet=In the flats, the birds feed on aquatic invertebrates and, in cold, snowy conditions, the birds switch to mainly living on rice gleanings from the paddy fields.  Distinctive features= Adult Red-crowned Cranes are named for a patch of red bare skin on the crown. Overall, they are snow white in colour with black on the wings. Males are black on the cheeks, throat and neck in males, while females are pearly grey in these spots.

Red-Crowned Crane- The Dancing Bird

Japanese River Otter

 Fact= Sadly, the Japanese River Otter officially became extinct in August this year.  Habitat= A nocturnal creature, an otter only left its den after dark to forage for food. The otter claimed it’s territory by marking the area with its droppings and setting up three or four nests under rocks or inside bushes.  Diet= Like most otters, the Japanese river otter was not an especially picky eater. While it primarily fed on fish, crab, and shrimp; it also ate eels, beetles, watermelons, and sweet potatoes.

Japanese River Otter

Mukade- Japanese Centipede

 Habitat= Mukade tend to make themselves known during the rainy reason in Japan, and often make their way into homes!  Diet= Mukade are predators that have adapted to eat a variety of different available prey. Examination of centipede gut contents suggest that plant material is an unimportant part of their diet although centipedes have been observed to eat vegetable matter when starved. They eat anything that is soft-bodied and a reasonable size range.  Distinctive features= Some species of centipede can be hazardous to humans because of their bite. Although a bite to an adult human is usually very painful and may cause severe swelling, chills, fever, and weakness, it is unlikely to be fatal.

Mukade- Japanese Centipede

Japanese Tiger Beetle

 Habitat= They live along sea and lake shores, on sand dunes, around lakebeds and on clay banks or woodland paths, being particularly fond of sandy surfaces.  Diet= Japanese beetles love leaves on a variety of bushes and trees. Maple trees, chestnut trees, fruit trees, rose leaves and willows are among some of their favourite leaves.  Distinctive features= The fastest species of tiger beetle can run at a speed of 9 km/h, which, relative to its body length, is about 22 times the speed of former Olympic sprinter Michael Johnson, the equivalent of a human running at 770 km/h.

Japanese Tiger Beetle