Editor's note: This is part of a series of videos offering an up-close perspective on the animal kingdom. A special 360-degree video camera system was set up in zoos and other facilities to show how the animals view their world as they interact.

Also visit our special 360-DEGREE LIVES page (http://t.asahi.com/360lives), where you can watch all the previous videos.

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The Japanese giant salamander might look like a lump of driftwood when stationary, but this creature goes with the flow and that's probably why it's so cool.

With a body length measuring between 50 to 150 centimeters, it is one of the largest amphibians in the world and is designated a special national treasure.

Two salamander varieties captured from the Kamogawa river system are on display in a large water tank at the Kyoto Aquarium in the ancient capital’s Shimogyo Ward.

They are similar to the Japanese giant salamander--an alien Chinese giant salamander and the offspring of the native Japanese species and its Chinese cousin.

Chinese giant salamanders were imported during the 1970s for food and other purposes, but some escaped and proliferated in the wild. According to aquarium officials, researchers have found no local varieties in the Kamogawa river in recent years.

At the aquarium, the giant salamanders stay almost motionless, resembling driftwood and seemingly oblivious to their surroundings.

“Because they are nocturnal, they stack up on top of each other in one corner of the tank where light cannot reach during the day,” said zoo staff member Yusuke Tsuji, 24.

Adult giant salamanders stick their snouts above the water to breathe at least once every 30 minutes or hour, according to aquarium officials.

During about two hours of filming, however, the giant salamanders were seen moving only for a few minutes.

The Japanese giant salamander lives in mountain streams in western Japan. It feeds mainly on fish and freshwater crabs, and moves rapidly when attacking prey.