By MASASHI OWAKU/ Staff Writer
July 9, 2019 at 15:55 JST
Wild it may be, but an endangered young bobcat recently caught on camera on Iriomotejima island in Okinawa Prefecture is undeniably cute.
An image of the "Iriomote yamaneko," a protected species native to the island in the town of Taketomi, was snapped last month by a researcher from the University of the Ryukyus.
"We've had eyewitness accounts, but photos are rare," said an official of the Environment Ministry's nature preservation office on Iriomotejima, one of the prefecture's Yaeyama islands.
Takuto Shitara, a specially appointed associate professor of the Iriomotejima research facility of the university’s Tropical Biosphere Research Center, caught a glimpse of an adult Iriomote yamaneko first near a roadway entering the bush around noon on June 30.
According to Shitara, after waiting for a while, a young wildcat emerged from a ditch, likely following the adult cat. Shitara took pictures of the kitten.
There were a record nine traffic accidents involving the wildcat in 2018 on Iriomotejima. In response, the Environment Ministry and the town of Taketomi declared a state of emergency.
While traffic accidents involving the protected species have yet to occur this year, Shitara emphasized: "I want visitors to drive carefully. I hope the number of accidents is reduced."
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A young Iriomote yamaneko wildcat seen on Iriomotejima island in Taketomi, Okinawa Prefecture, on June 30 (Provided by Takuhito Shitara)
