Animal Videos

Tightrope Walking Chimpanzee

Pan-kun the chimpanzee learns some tightrope walking (from “Shimura Zoo”):

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Wild Boar Spotted in Northern Japan

A news report shows that wild boar have been spotted in areas of Japan that were previously considered too cold for habitation:

Earlier this month, a wild boar was shot by hunters in Akita – the first confirmed case in that prefecture. As you can see from the population distribution map at the top of this post, wild boar are only known to inhabit the warmer southern areas of Japan.

In recent years there have been other first sightings up north: 2007 in Yamagata prefecture and 2011 in Iwate prefecture. This means trouble for farmers in those areas, who never previously had to deal with wild boar eating their crops.

One theory: Global warming has made cold areas warmer, so the boar can now head north.

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Chimpanzee Plays Ping Pong

Comedian Ken Shimura plays table tennis with Pan-kun the chimpanzee (from Shimura Zoo):

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Dog & Monkey Are Best Friends

A dog and a monkey in Tottori who are the buddies:

Dogs have long been used in Japan to protect crops from monkeys. There is a Japanese phrase that describes two people who are always fighting: “they are like a dog and a monkey” (犬猿の仲だ).

This pair defies the stereotype. The wild monkey comes every morning to play with the dog. Nobody is exactly sure how it started, but they guess that the monkey became separated from its family and ended up meeting the friendly dog.

Related video: Baby Monkey Survives Typhoon & Befriends Dog

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