Animals native to Japan

Endangered animals in Japan

Sadly the Japanese river otter, the Hokkaido wolf and the Japanese wolf are already extinct.  Animals are listed in different categories depending on their numbers and their likelihood of surviving. Which animals are endangered and which ones are vulnerable? Read on to find out more.  

Critically endangered.

• Iriomote cat

Endangered.

• Japanese crested ibis

• Amami rabbit

• Ryuyu spiny rat

• red crowned crane

 

Vulnerable 

• Short tailed albatross

Near threatened.

• Sado mole

• black banded sea krait

• Japanese pond turtle

List of animals in Japan 

Mammals

      There are 130 species of mammals in Japan. The largest of which are the two species of bear which still live in the mountain highlands. 

• Amami rabbit

• Asian particolored bat

• Asian black bear

• Azumi shrew

• Birdlike noctule

• Bonin flying fox

• Echigo mole

• Endo's pipistrelle

• Daubenton's bat

• Dsinezumi shrew

• Finless porpoise

• Forest tube-nosed bat

• Fraternal myotis

• Frosted myotis

• Greater horseshoe bat

• Hokkaido red-backed vole

• Horsfield's shrew

• Ikonnikov's bat

 

Greater horseshoe bat

Siberian chipmunk

• Imaizumi's horseshoe bat

• Iriomote cat

• Japanese dormouse

• Japanese badger

• Japanese grass vole

• Japanese hare

• Japanese macaque

• Japanese marten

• Japanese mole

• Japanese mountain mole

• Japanese raccoon dog

• Japanese red-backed vole

• Japanese sea lion

• Japanese shrew mole

• Japanese serow

• Japanese squirrel

• Japanese water shrew

• Japanese weasel

• Kobe mole

• La Touche's free-tailed bat

• Large Japanese field mouse

• Lesser great leaf-nosed bat

• Little Japanese horseshoe bat

• Muennink's spiny rat

 

• Northern pika

• Okinawa flying fox

• Racoon dog

• Ryukyu flying fox

• Ryukyu mouse

• Ryukyu shrew

• Ryukyu spiny rat

• Ryukyu tube-nosed bat

• Sado mole

• Sado shrew

• Shinano whiskered bat

• Shinto shrew

• Siberian chipmunk

• Sika deer

• Small Japanese field mouse

• Small Japanese mole

• Southeast Asian long-fingered bat

• Steller’s sea lion

• Sturdee's pipistrelle

• Tanezumi rat

• Tokunoshima spiny rat

• True's shrew mole

• Ussuri brown bear

• Wild boar

• Yanbaru whiskered bat

 

Reptiles

There are 73 species of reptile in Japan. These include sea turtles, sea snakes and snakes.

• Japanese grass lizard

• Kishinoue's giant skink

• Kuroiwa's ground gecko

• Japanese python

 

Amphibians

Over 40 amphibian species can be found in Japan including the enormous Japanese giant salamander.

• Amami odd-scaled snake

• Black banded sea krait

• Japanese forest rat snake

• Japanese giant salamander

• Japanese pond turtle

• Viviparous lizard

 

Birds

Over 600 species of birds have been found in Japan with 250 of them known to breed in Japan.

• Bonin white eye

• Copper pheasant

• Crane

• Green pheasant

• Izu thrush

• Japanese quail

• Japanese woodpecker

• Okinawa rail

 

Fish

Japan is home to over 3000 different types of fish.

• Ayu

• Bitterling

• Chinook salmon

• Common carp

• Crucian carp

• Goblin shark

• Hucho perryi

• Koi

• Red sea bream

• Stiphodon

 

 

This cheeky Macaque has stolen a mobile phone and is enjoying playing with it.