In the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011, Japan, popularly known as the Land of the Rising Sun, was plunged into an emotional three-year tailspin, with a nation feeling the brunt of much greater hardship. Those days appear to be slipping away, with many people feeling safe about their financial future and the population ticking back toward a self-sustaining recovery.
The Washington Post reported this week on the diverse array of wildlife inhabiting the countryside around Fukushima. The biggest threats for the Japanese residents is not other species, but pests: cicadas, caterpillars, snakes, beetles and mice.
But in this lovely yearbook of wildlife, coastal birds abound, including black oystercatchers, yellow necked songbirds, yellow-legged cormorants and snowy egrets. The area also teems with marine life, including starfish, fish, turtles and dolphins. The stories of small mammals, such as earthworms, shed an important scientific light on the initial loss of territory left to the smaller animals. Although some have bounced back, few have recovered completely.
For more wildlife news, visit the Wildlife News Exchange blog.
