Japan

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.