Located in the southern part of Izumisano City, Osaka Prefecture, the "Rural landscape of Ogi Hinenosho", an important cultural landscape, has been an area rich in nature since ancient times. This area has been designated as an important cultural site and has been continuously investigated for its natural environment. The Research Institute of Environment, Agriculture and Fisheries, Osaka Prefecture has been conducting surveys in the area for wildlife conservation and management.
　　On April 8, 2022, the National Special Natural Monument "Japanese serow" was confirmed for the first time in Osaka Prefecture in the forest near Inunakisan.

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Japanese serow(Capricornis Crispus)

· The Japanese serow belongs to the antelope genus of bovidae, an indigenous mammal in Japan.
· It was designated as a National Special Natural Monument in 1955.
· In Kinki region, it is mainly distributed in the northern part of Kyoto Prefecture and Shiga Prefecture, Suzuka Mountains and Kii Mountains.
· Adult Japanese serow, both male and female, establish territories and maintain them for a long time.
· Most individuals leave their parents' circle of activity and disperse at a young age of 2 or 3 years old.
· In recent years, there has been a nationwide trend of expanding distribution from the current distribution area to the surrounding areas.

　　The Japanese serow was captured by an automatic camera with an infrared sensor set up for a wildlife survey.
　　The two cameras, which were in operation for about two month, captured only one shot of the Japanese serow during their operation, suggesting that this was a young individual that had not yet settled down and established territory and was drifting away from its parents' circle of action.
　　It is highly likely that the individuals photographed were scattered from the nearest group of individuals in the Kii mountains (refer to the location map). The kii Mountain population has been designated as an "endangered regional population" in the Ministry of Environment Red List 2020.
　　While Izumisano City and the Biodiversity Center of Japan conducted a wildlife survey in southern Osaka prefecture, it was necessary to share the information with the administration and urged residents not to catch the Japanese serow by mistake.
※ The Study will be published in the August issue of Nature Study, volume 68, No. 8, a monthly magazine published by the Osaka Museum of Natural History.

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The location of this discovery and the distribution information of The Japanese serow in the surrounding area

※ The distribution information of the surrounding area is based on the "Report on the distribution of Large mammals in 2018" released by the the Biodiversity Center of Japan.

[About the Region]
　　The area has been designated as a National Historic Site, Hinenosho Site, and is considered to be an area with excellent natural environment that has inherited the traditional rural scenery since the Middle Ages. In 2013, this area was selected as the "Rural Landscape of Hinenosho" for the first time in Osaka Prefecture as a National Important Cultural Landscape. In order to achieve harmonious coexistence between man and nature and sustainable development of biodiversity environment, the Cultural Properties Section of Izumisano City cooperated with Osaka Metropolitan University to investigate and observe the area.

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[Contact Us (Japanese Only)]
The Research Institute of Environment, Agriculture and Fisheries, Osaka Prefecture
Director: Koda, Ishizuka, Biodiversity Center of Japan
Tel:072-833-2770 Fax:072-831-0229