Wildlife

The Forest Science Museum's first floor contains mounted exhibits of the 15 different mammals that live in the Tama Forest Science Garden(badger,civet,raccoon,Japanese marten,Japanese hare,boar,Japanese deer,Japanese giant flying squirrel,Japanese squirrel,large Japanese field mouse, small Japanese mole, Japanese shrew mole, and Japanese house bat.) The Science Garden is connected to the Takao National Park, so many types of mammals that are native to Honshu's lowland areas. However, on its eastern side, the Science Garden borders urban areas, and from there comes the human-based impact of non-native species such as the common raccoon, civet, and feral cats. It is rather difficult to catch sight of this varied wildlife during daytime when the Science Garden is open; however, you can find the tracks and marks that they make. We have identified places where you can see them in the Science Garden, so by all means watch for them. Masked palm civets were first spotted in 1981, badgers in 1992, and raccoons in particular have been on the rise in recent years, and this is also true of the Mount Takao area. The Science Garden, we aim to keep wildlife from infiltrating into urban areas and to simultaneously keep urban animals from penetrating too deeply into mountainous and forested areas.