Japanese river otter
Japanese river otter in LOST ZOO
It had a thick, lush coat of dark brown fur with short webbed feet.
It has two types of fur. Their under fur would be shed in May to August and afterwards from August to November the guard hair.
As a nocturnal animal, the otter leaves its den after dark to forage for food, in the water and on land.
Sometimes the otter has to spend almost six hours to find food because of their difficult living space and their competition for food.
The Japanese river otter was quite common all over Japan, but by overhunting it became rare in the 1930ies. In the 1950ies it became extinct on Honshu, Kyushu and Hokkaido and was restricted to Shikoku. It was always discussed, if the Japanese river otter is a subspecies of the Eurasian river otter or if it is a separate species. Recent genetic research results proved the Japanese river otter as a separate endemic species.
Body length: 65-80 cm
Tail length: 45-50 cm, 60-70% of the body length
Food: Fish, crab and shrimp, but also beetles and other large insects, water melons and sweet potatoes; up to 15-25% of the body weight.
Breeding: Adult with only one year and first reproduction with an age of 2-3 years; when born the cubs are blind for one month, with an age of 4 months they start to feed solid food and to hunt.
Extinction: Became extinct by overhunting; in 1964 it has been spotted only a few times and seen for the last time in 1972. In August 2012, the Japanese Ministry for Environment declared the Japanese river otter officially as extinct.
