Lion, Zebra, Warthog, African Buffalo, Great White Shark, Fur Seal, Polar bear, Walrus, Philippine Tarsier, Hyena, Shrew, Bear, Chimpanzee, Sperm Whale, Colossal squid, Elk, Grey wolf, Baboon, Jaguar, capybara, Coati, beaver, and more.

American Alligator, Groundhog, Smalltooth sawfish, Wyoming toad, Everglades Snail Kites, Jaguarundi

Big cants, Rhinoceroses, Primates, Bats, Parrots, and more to come.

To protect certain species, we need to know the population trend to determine whether a population in the area is decreasing, increasing or stable. It is also important to know the impact of human activities during the survey.

Both humans and other great apes have spindle cells that are found in their brains and work for processing emotions and balancing social interaction. Recently spindle cells are also discovered in the brain of the other large animals such as humpback whales, killer whales, sperm whales and both African and Asian elephants. No wonder why those animals have complex communication skills and social structures.

The ocean has vast space, depth, and complicated structure. That is very rich, delicate and fragile environments to contain abundant lives.

The excrement of animals tells us about what they eat and don’t digest.

Some animals are not suitable to keep in captivity, such as chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans. Even small animals like penguins are very difficult to provide appropriate environment for them. Among the most difficult species to keep in captivity is polar bear.

It takes considerable time for fertile soil to cover the surface of mountain. Many ingredients and some other factors are also required.

The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the protection and conservation of wetlands. The convention became effective in 1975. People finally realize the importance of wetlands. However mudflats need more people to preserve their environment.

Mangrove forests are found in coast of the tropics and subtropics regions. In mangrove forest there are several species of trees which are able to tolerate salt water and tidal condition. Only mangroves, approximately 110 species, are able to adapt to this environment.

Whiskers are alternative sensor of hands and eyes for some animals. They move their whiskers very rapidly to detect and discriminate object texture, shape, and location.

Animals eat food and digest it, absorb its nutrients, then eject residues as feces. Feces are not waste. Let's take a look at the pooh left behind by animals.

Some Termites could have eaten dinosaur-bone during the Jurassic period, since the their bite mark found on the fossil. Some termites build a high mound of which form is like a cathedral and cultivate fungi in it.

When spring comes, you may notice many ladybirds and ladybugs in your garden, forest, parks, and everywhare. Do you know where they come from? Let's find out!

All primates have five fingers with keratin nails and eyes that situated on the front of face. So they are able to hold things firmly and measure distance accurately. Primates are composed of two large groups Strepsirrhini and Haplorhini.

The Monarch butterflies are famous for their migration. In late march the population east of the Rocky Mountains starts north bound trip from Mexico and they reach to Canada in Summer. In fall, they start migration south bound to Mexico.

Humpback whaele is very popular among whale watchers. The whale takes the longest trip among all the kinds of whales.

Wetlands give us plenty of benefit; first thick layer of mud has the filter function to clean dirty water, second wetlands reserve large amount of water and prevent flood. They also moderate the climate of the region nearby. The minerals in wetlands go into the sea and form rich fishery grounds as well. Finally since they are composed of complex natural environments, they are home for many rare species of animals.

Red-crowned Cranes were hunted for meat during the Meiji era (1868-1912), then the population continued decreasing because of habitat loss during the Taisho era (1912-1926), at that time only 12 cranes were left in the wild. Suddenly 33 birds were found in 1952 and local people had started feeding them during the winter. Since then both the local people and the government have been protecting the cranes and eventually the population comes back to 1300.

Blakiston’s Fish Owl is one of the largest owls in the world; their wing span reaches about 6.3ft (180cm). They are found in northeastern China, Korea, Sakhalin in Russia and central east of Hokkaido in Japan. Although only few live in Kushiro shitugen, main population concentrates in Shiretoko Peninsula of Hokkaido. In Japan Blakiston’s Fish Owls are critically endangered species, only about 140 of them are left in the wild.

Steller’s Sea Eagles overwinter, approximately 1400 to 1700 birds, in central and east Hokkaido. White-Tailed Eagles also come to Japan in November and about 550 to 800 birds stay in Hokkaido and Northern Honshu island during the winter. Although both birds migrate to Russia in spring to breed, some population of White-Tailed Eagles stay in Hokkaido to produce offspring. In Kushiro shitugen White-Tailed Eagles are found in winter too.

In Japan Tufted Puffins inhabit only two small islands, Yururi and Moyururi about 1.9miles (3km) offshore of Nemuro peninsula northeast Hokkaido. The population is very low about 40 and regrettably only 10 pairs of them are able to breed. The recovery future seemed to be grim. The causes of decline are by-catch, predation by invasive species and climate change.

Many people visit Oarai aquarium to see sharks in which the aquarium specialize, but why sharks? Most of sharks that the aquarium rears and breeds live in the bottom of sea. Those sharks are scarcely seen by people because they usually hide behind rocks or stay underneath sand. So it is good opportunity for visitor to see those sharks at the aquarium.

Asa zoological park of Hiroshima opened in 1971. Since then Asa zoo has been protecting Japanese giant salamanders. Although Japanese giant salamanders were designated as national treasure animal in 1983, the population was declining year after year. Meanwhile Asa zoo was trying to breed in captivity, at last the first generation of Japanese giant salamanders were born at the zoo in 1979. After that, the third generation was born between the couple of zoo-born salamanders.

There is a world, which you can see through microscope. The world is very tiny, but you’ll find it is actually a big world like the macrocosm. The specialist Kusuoka showed the interesting biology at Lake Biwa Museum.