Getty images<\/figcaption><\/figure>Japanese giant salamanders are deserving of their status as a national treasure, but these elusive creatures face an uncertain future. In 2022, their conservation status was upgraded by the IUCN from Near Threatened to Vulnerable.\u00a0<\/p>
Like a host of other river-dwelling animals, one of the main reasons for their demise is habitat fragmentation. Salamanders are being prevented from travelling upstream to breed by the construction of concrete weirs and dams, along with other human-made flood-prevention reinforcements, which block their movements upstream.<\/p>
Water pollution is another threat for a creature that breathes through its skin (and thus relies on oxygen in the water), as is the increase of extreme weather events, such as rainstorms and flooding, which can sweep salamanders out of rivers and into the ocean.\u00a0<\/p>
As if that\u2019s not enough, there\u2019s the challenge posed by the introduction of a closely related species. In 1972, approximately 800 Chinese giant salamanders were brought to Japan with the intention of selling their meat as a delicacy, a practice that has been banned for its protected Japanese cousin. <\/p>
Many of these newcomers ended up in river courses throughout the country, and the species is now considered invasive, with genetic studies revealing extensive crossbreeding between Chinese and Japanese populations. Research conducted from 2011 to 2013 by scientists at Hiroshima University found that 98 per cent of the giant salamanders in the Kamogawa river system in Kyoto, once a stronghold of the Japanese giant salamander, are in fact hybrids. These hybrid individuals are outcompeting the native species, which could potentially lead to its extinction.\u00a0<\/p>
Could the Japanese giant salamander be saved from extinction?<\/h2> Despite the gloom, there is some hope for these prehistoric marvels, because they have Richard, who has devoted his life to saving these magnificent creatures and protecting their entire habitat. \u201cWe know Japanese giant salamanders are in trouble, even though we don\u2019t have data showing the decline,\u201d
Originally from Gloucestershire, Richard has been living in Japan for more than a decade and has witnessed the continued degradation of the salamanders\u2019 habitat. In 2021, he set up the non-profit organisation Sustainable Daisen to raise awareness of the species\u2019 plight in the Nawa River Basin. Richard believes that ecotourism is essential in securing the future of these special animals. He runs viewing and conservation tours \u2013 on the latter, guests accompany a leading salamander scientist and help collect data.<\/p>
\u201cPeople come from all over the world to see these giants,\u201d he says. \u201cThey aren\u2019t interested in anime, or the shrines, or anything else related to Japan. They\u2019re only here for the salamanders\u201d. For amphibian enthusiasts, these living dinosaurs are a bucket-list species, bringing ecotourism dollars into depressed rural areas. \u201cShowing local people and authorities that keeping these amazing animals alive is of economic benefit may be their only and best chance of survival,\u201d\u00a0says Richard.<\/p>
Seeing giant salamanders in this part of the country is special in itself. Not only is the ecology unique \u2013 nowhere else in Japan do the amphibians breed so close to the coast, and at such low altitudes (less than 100m) \u2013 but there is a huge cultural significance interwoven into the landscape. <\/p>View of Mt. Daisen and Nakaumi from Mt.Makuragi on the Shimane Peninsula. Getty images<\/figcaption><\/figure>The Nawa River Basin sits in the foothills of Mount Daisen, which, at 1,729m tall and shrouded in beech forest, is the highest peak in Tottori. As a sacred site long revered as a home of gods, the area around the peak of\u00a0Daisen has been left undisturbed, its intact forests filtering water as it\u00a0trickles into streams, creating the clean, oxygen-rich habitat the salamanders need.\u00a0<\/p>
Richard works with international researchers to collect population data, as well as record the impact of weirs and dams, and assess the quality of river water. \u201cIt is our hope that the government will start taking the problems facing the salamanders as seriously as we believe they need to, after reading our recommendations,\u201d he says.\u00a0In the meantime, with the help of volunteers and with special permission, he has built temporary bypass slopes over a number of weirs in a salamander-rich area of Daisen town, to grant the amphibians passage upstream. Ideally, these structures will become permanent in time.\u00a0<\/p>
I sometimes wonder, if I had to go back to my primary school days, what I would have told myself about the existence of Charmanders. Would I have let my nine-year-old self down by telling her that Pok\u00e9mon characters do not exist in real life, and cannot, in fact, breathe fire?\u00a0Or that Charmander is actually based on a real animal, but one that faces a high chance of becoming extinct?<\/p>
On reflection, what I think I\u2019d tell her is something more helpful. I\u2019d tell her that there\u2019s an even cooler creature than Charmander. It\u2019s double the size, can suck in prey in the blink of an eye, and is a prehistoric marvel whose family is around 23 million years old. And what\u2019s more, it really does exist.\u00a0<\/p>
Prehistoric aurochs are back from extinction and spreading across Europe. And they could be heading to the UK<\/a><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\nJapanese giant salamanders have survived unchanged