Photo/Illutration A Ryukyu long-haired rat keeps moving in a quest for cherry blossoms on Amami-Oshima island in Kagoshima Prefecture on Feb. 2. (Makoto Hokao)

AMAMI-OSHIMA ISLAND, Kagoshima Prefecture--Japan's largest native rat species is suddenly devouring the country's beloved cherry blossoms, and conservationists can't explain why.

Feasting on the blossoms up in the trees is strange behavior for the critically endangered Ryukyu long-haired rat (Diplothrix legata), which grows to 25 to 30 centimeters in length.

Conservationists wonder if this year's failure of the acorn crops is behind the rat's surprise change in diet.

The species, a designated national natural treasure, only inhabits Amami-Oshima and Tokunoshima islands in Kagoshima Prefecture, and the northern part of Okinawa Prefecture’s main island.

In spring, the rats, which have partially white tails, are usually spotted eating acorns, their favorite food, that have fallen to the ground.

But acorns are scarce this year, nature conservation officials said, which may account for why they're now climbing cherry blossom trees in search of food.

“They're getting their paws on cherry blossoms this year,” said Takatoshi Makino, an Environment Ministry ranger. “Without acorns, they're probably starving.”

A Ryukyu long-haired rat was seen roaming from tree to tree on the evening of Feb. 2, biting into the pink blossoms of a kanhi-zakura (winter cherry tree) that stood along a forest road in Amami-Oshima island.

The vanishing habitat of the species due to deforestation has caused the number of Ryukyu long-haired rats to plummet.

The rodent is designated as critically endangered on the Environment Ministry’s red list.

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