07-07-2025
First dormouse found in town in Wakayama saved from cat
A Japanese dormouse caught for protection at the home of Takashi Matsuba in Nachi-Katsuura, Wakayama Prefecture (Provided by Shusaku Minato)
NACHI-KATSUURA, Wakayama Prefecture—A rodent that was rescued from a curious house cat turned out to be the first Japanese dormouse found in this town on the Kii Peninsula.
The dormouse, a government-designated natural treasure, was a 12-centimeter-long male pup younger than 1 year old.
Thanks to Takashi Matsuba, 60, a local care manager, the dormouse will likely reach his first birthday.
On the night of April 20, Matsuba, who lives in Nachi-Katsuura's Kumasegawa district, noticed his pet cat was staring at a round furry object in the hollow where a pillar and beam intersect.
Before the cat could pounce, Matsuba gently wrapped the unfamiliar animal in a transparent plastic bag for safety. A closer look revealed the mammal was not an ordinary mouse.
Matsuba searched the internet for information and concluded the animal was likely a treasured Japanese dormouse. He asked the Dormouse and Wildlife Institute in Hokuto, Yamanashi Prefecture, for assistance.
The dormouse had a wound on its tail. Matsuba took care of the animal by feeding it with apples and mikan while keeping in close contact with the research institution.
He started thinking about when he would release the Japanese dormouse back into the wild.
Shusaku Minato, representative director of the Dormouse and Wildlife Institute, also hails from Nachi-Katsuura and visits the southern part of the Kii Peninsula about once a month for his research.
Minato studies the tree-to-tree and other routes wild creatures take to get around expressway tunnel construction sites in the cities of Kumano and Owase in Mie Prefecture.
He has observed dormice at these locations.
Minato was carrying out surveys in Kumano and the Ryujinmura district of Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture, when he learned that Matsuba was planning to free the dormouse.
On April 24, Matsuba, accompanied by Minato and prefectural and municipal officials, returned the Japanese dormouse to its natural habitat.
Matsuba's discovery of the dormouse highlights the rich natural environment of Nachi-Katsuura and the surrounding Kinan region marked by primeval forests.
The species' presence has been also confirmed in the nearby town of Kozagawa, Wakayama Prefecture.
A few kilometers from Matsuba's home, a nest of the dormice was found downstream from the Nachi Otaki waterfall on Mount Nachisan in Nachi-Katsuura.
'My impression had always been that the Japanese dormouse is an animal variant that lives in much more northern areas,' Matsuba said. 'I would like the dormouse to grow securely in the forest of Nachi-Katsuura.'
