Japanese wolf. Extinct animals puzzle. Animals puzzle for kids and adults.
Some facts.
Today the Japanese wolf is considered officially extinct. As sad as it may be, now you can only see it in ancient paintings or among museum exhibits. But there were times when these freedom-loving predators proudly walked across Japanese soil. What happened to them? Why couldn’t they survive to this day? And who is to blame for this tragedy?
Wolves in Japanese culture
Europeans are accustomed to seeing the wolf as a formidable predator who, without a shadow of a doubt, attacks everyone who dares to stand in its way. That is why they were so afraid of these animals and tried to destroy them at the slightest opportunity. However, the Japanese wolf appears to us in a completely different light.
So, according to ancient legends, this animal was the embodiment of the forest spirit. This predator not only protected its lands from demons and evil misfortunes, but also worked closely with humans. For example, ancient people believed that the Japanese wolf helped lost travelers find their way home. That is why the Japanese often presented sacrifices in honor of these animals, so that they would always protect them.
Moreover, there is a version that claims that extinct species of wolves could smell the approach of a natural disaster. At such moments, their howl echoed throughout the area, warning people of impending disaster.
Japanese wolves through the eyes of scientists
At the moment, scientists cannot determine exactly when wolves settled on the Japanese islands. The only thing known for certain is that their ancestors came from Mongolian lands. This is evidenced by their genome, which is only 6% different from the genome of their blood brothers.
In addition to Japan itself, they also lived on nearby islands such as Kyushu, Honshu, Shikoku and Wakayama. Like their European counterparts, Japanese predators preferred to settle near villages and small towns. This can be explained by the fact that here wolves could easily find food thrown away by people.
Moreover, two subspecies of these predators lived on the territory of modern Japan. These are Ezo wolves and Hondo Japanese wolves. And if the first was a typical representative of the canine family, then the second was very different from its current relatives.
Ezo wolf: appearance and causes of extinction
The more common name for this subspecies is the Hokkaido wolf. This predator was not much different from its European counterparts and was a direct heir to their customs and habits. On average, the height of these animals rarely exceeded the limit of 130 cm. But even so, they were one of the largest predators on the island.
As stated earlier, the Japanese wolf was a very revered animal and was treated with deep respect. However, at the end of the 19th century the situation changed for the worse. With the rise of Emperor Mutsuhito, more and more land was taken over by farmers and landowners. And since wolves could pose a serious threat to them, the government issued a decree according to which there was a reward for killing these predators.
This led to the fact that there was no end to those wishing to make money from the death of poor animals. And so, in 1889, the last Ezo wolf was killed by hunters. And only a hundred years later people began to think about how cruel they could be.
Hope for a miracle
Given new advances in genetic engineering, there is hope that some extinct species will get another chance to exist. Scientists really believe that they will soon be able to clone those creatures whose DNA they have in their database.
As for Japanese wolves, thanks to the efforts of Hideaki Tojo, their genome was completely restored. It is curious that a talented scientist was able to achieve this using only a tiny piece of living tissue, which miraculously survived to this day. This means that someday Japanese wolves will rise from the dead again and take their rightful place next to humans.
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