River otter found unlikely to be Japanese endemic species
Jiji -- Oct 13
The river otter found on the island of Tsushima in southwestern Japan is unlikely to be the Japanese river otter, an endemic species that has been declared extinct, a researcher said Thursday.

The Environment Ministry conducted research across Tsushima between Aug. 28 and Sept. 2 after a video image captured a wild river otter on the island in Nagasaki Prefecture in February, marking the first discovery of the creature in the country in 38 years.

The survey found that at least one Eurasian otter, a species similar to the type that live in South Korea and the Russian province of Sakhalin, inhabits the island, the ministry said.

The possibility that the otter in Tsushima is the Japanese river otter is "very low," as they are distantly related genealogically, Hiroshi Sasaki, professor at Chikushi Jogakuen University, who participated in the research, told a press conference.

Tsushima is located about halfway between the Japanese mainland and the Korean Peninsula. The Japanese river otter, whose scientific name is Lutra nippon, was categorized as extinct in Japan's red list in 2012.

絶滅したとされる「ニホンカワウソ」発見はウソだった?新たな調査結果が明らかになった。 長崎県対馬市で今年2月に撮られた映像がこの夏、日本中を騒然とさせた。絶滅種に指定されたニホンカワウソは生きていたのか。その調査結果は。
News sources: Jiji, ANNnewsCH