Critically EndangeredGiant Clam
Tridacna gigas
Asia
Japan extends over three thousand kilometres of latitude, from the drift ice that reaches the coasts of Hokkaido every winter to the subtropical coral reefs of Okinawa, which gives it a diversity of climates and species far greater than its area would suggest. It is a mountainous, volcanic country, two thirds covered by forest, with an island fauna full of unique forms. The Shiretoko peninsula, in the northeast, is a World Heritage Site thanks to the food chain that begins with sea ice and culminates in brown bears, Steller's sea eagles and salmon. In the south, the island of Yakushima keeps thousand-year-old cedars in a temperate rainforest, and the Ryukyu Islands hold relict mammals such as the Amami rabbit and the Iriomote cat.
National animal: The green pheasant, the country's national bird
The Japanese macaque is the non-human primate that lives furthest north on the planet and endures winters with metres of snow. In the Jigokudani valley, one group learned to get into the hot springs to fight the cold: the habit began in the 1960s when a female copied human bathers, and it spread from one individual to another until it became a cultural tradition of the group that has been kept up generation after generation.
The Japanese red-crowned crane was down to twenty or so birds at Kushiro in 1924 and recovered thanks to winter feeding by local farmers. The crested ibis became extinct in Japan and has been reintroduced with birds brought from China.
Jigokudani in winter for macaques in the hot springs. Kushiro between December and February for the cranes' dance. Shiretoko in February for drift ice and Steller's sea eagles.
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Same region: East Asia
Same region: East Asia
Same region: East Asia
Same region: East Asia
323 species found
Based on what we already know about Japan.
