Wildlife in Tokyo

A parallel universe…

Kevin: Badgers living along the rail tracks, a new litter every year as the youngsters move on, never to be seen again.

Naomi: What’s fascinating is the hunting. People might flinch from rats but rats learn to beware of the owl.

Kevin: And the hawks. They circle above then swoop on migratory birds roosting in Shibuya trees.

Naomi: The opportunists. Racoons eating food put out for cats.

Kevin: The species that have no enemies. So many varieties of ladybirds unpalatable to birds and even praying mantises.

Naomi: And then there’s the food chains. The insects eaten by a yamamori gecko and the gecko eaten by a giant mantis and the mantis eaten by a frog.

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Voice-over

Fascinating. Tokyo-Yokohama area is a megalopolis. It’s 37 million people. An animal census might reveal some surprising wildlife numbers, too.