Goodbye Japanese otter. It once lived along rivers all over Japan, feeding on fish, crabs, shrimps, beetles and sweet potatoes, but it hasn't been seen for 30 years now. From today it has been officially declared extinct by the Minister of the Environment Goshi Hosono, exterminated by the loss of habitat induced by agriculture and excessive hunting for its fur.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
Goodbye Japanese otter. It once lived along rivers all over Japan, feeding on fish, crabs, shrimp, beetles, and sweet potatoes, but now For 30 years, not even one specimen has been sighted. From today it has been officially declared extinct by the Minister of the Environment Goshi Hosono, exterminated by the loss of habitat induced by agriculture and excessive hunting for its fur.
The last specimens had been sighted in 1979 along the banks of the Shinjo River in Susaki, Kochi prefecture, when the species was already classified in the red list of the most endangered mammals in Japan. Over the years, the hopes that it could survive have faded and now these unfortunate mustelids, victims of human arrogance, are the first mammals, since 1925, to be declared extinct in the Asian state. Before them, 2 species of Japanese bats and 2 species of wolves went extinct in the Meija era (1868-1912).
Hopes after the declaration of extinction? The reports of the official inspections of the Ministry of the Environment, explains the Revmodo newspaper, indicate that this otter is disappeared from the northern island of Hokkaido in 1950 and from the island of Honshu in 1960. Yet in March 1992, researchers carrying out his research found hair and excrement from an otter, perhaps the last official testimony of a surviving Japanese otter.
For this Yoshihiko Machida, professor emeritus at the University of Kochi, is not yet ready to ring the death bells for Japanese otters. "I think that it is possible that they still exist and I want to continue my investigation, ”he said in response to the otter's extinction statement. And hope, as we know, is the last to die.
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