Posts Tagged ‘nature’

North American Bird Makes Rare Appearance In Japan

A FTV report about the sighting of a bird that is rarely seen in Japan:

The bird in the video is a White-crowned Sparrow, which are native to Northern Canada and the Western United States. There have only been 7 recorded sightings of White-crowned Sparrows in Japan, and this is the first time one has been seen on the island of Shikoku. The bird’s summer plumage is now visible, so observers expect that it will soon fly north and return to its home.

According to Wikipedia, this isn’t the first case of a White-crowned Sparrow migrating far from its natural breeding habitat. Vagrant White-crowned Sparrows have sometimes made their way to England and Ireland.

Graveyard Cherry Blossoms

Tokyo’s cherry blossoms are in full bloom, so lets face it: every large park with cherry trees is going to be so packed full of people that it will be near impossible to walk around and enjoy the flowers. There are some locations that may not be so crowded, as this FTV news clip shows:

The report shows a group of foreign students who are having a cherry blossom viewing party in Aoyama Cemetery. Apparently many Japanese people would be creeped-out by the idea of picnicking among the gravestones, but these foreigners don’t seem to have much of a problem with it.

The report may be misleading though, since I did find a British Airways travel guide page that recommends Aoyama Cemetery as a cherry blossom viewing location. I also checked a few big Japanese sakura websites, and one of them does include the cemetery on its list. [So if you go to Aoyama Cemetery this weekend and find it ultra-crowded, don't say we didn't warn you!]

Beetle Given Government Protection

Yomiuri reports on an expensive beetle that needs protection:

The Environment Ministry has banned catching and trading a newly discovered species of stag beetle, effective Wednesday, to protect the insect from indiscriminate hunting, officials said.

The ministry made the decision after the revelation that the takaneruri kuwagata beetle, whose scientific name is Platycerus sue Imura, had been traded online. A pair of the insects was put up for auction on the Internet in January and traded for about 110,000 yen [about 1,100 USD], according to the ministry.

The one-centimeter-long insect, which was discovered by Yuki Imura, was revealed as a new species in November.

Ministry officials said the species is likely to go extinct unless steps are taken to protect the distinctly colored beetle–males have a turquoise metallic luster, while females are bronze-colored.

The insect is put under protection for three years starting from Wednesday under a law for the conservation of endangered species of wild fauna and flora, they added.

Blue Roses in Japan

The AFP reports that genetically-modified blue roses will soon be going on sale in Japan:

Suntory Ltd., also a major whisky distiller, hopes to sell several hundred thousand blue roses a year, company spokesman Kazumasa Nishizaki said.

“As its price may be a bit high, we are targeting demand for luxurious cut flowers, such as for gifts,” he said. The exact price and commercial name for the blue rose have not been decided.

[...]

It created the flowers by implanting the gene that leads to the synthesis of the blue pigment Delphinidin in pansies. The pigment does not exist naturally in roses.