Endangered Rat to Be Shown at Tokyo’s Inokashira Park Zoo; Public to Get Rare View of Japanese Natural Monument

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:04 JST, March 5, 2025

An endangered rat that is also a natural monument of Japan will be on public display at Inokashira Park Zoo in Musashino, Tokyo, from March 18.

Amami togenezumi (Amami spiny rat), which belongs to the Muridae family of the Rodentia order, is about 9-16 centimeters long and has spiny hairs among its brown and black fur.

The rodent only inhabits Amami Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture. Predators such as mongooses and wildcats are believed to be responsible for a drop in the animal’s population.

Domestic zoos began keeping and breeding the rats in 2017. Inokashira Park Zoo started keeping the rats in 2020 but did not put them on public display. The zoo established methods for keeping and managing the rats and, in 2023, succeeded in breeding them. According to the zoo, it decided to publicly display one of the 10 Amami spiny rats it is housing so that visitors can get to know the animal’s charms.

The zoo will also hold a special exhibition on Amami spiny rats from March 18 to June 29 to introduce the characteristics of the rat and its habitat on the island.

“I hope people will see how adorable they are when they hop while moving and learn that domestic zoos are working hard on their conservation,” an official in charge of the exhibition said.