In order to establish methodology for population estimation of Asiatic black bears using the hair-trapping method, hair-trapping devices were located within a study area, and basic data were collected to determine the optimal survey period for hair sampling. Bear hairs collected were classified as three types (guard hair; G, underfur; U, and intermediate hair; I) depending on hair-bulb thickness. After DNA extraction, six microsatellite loci and amelogenin locus were amplified in order to identify individual bears and sex, respectively. The number of hairs collected by hair-trapping devices decreased dramatically in late August, while those that had lost part of the hair bulb increased after September. The success rate of genetic analysis was over 90% prior to the month of July and rapidly decreased in August. Based on the results of the generalized linear model, it was determined that sampling session had the most significant impact on the success rate of genetic analysis of all the explanatory variables examined. Higher rates of U-type hairs within samples used in DNA extraction resulted in lower success rates of genetic analysis. It was concluded that the optimal survey period for estimating population size using the hair-trapping method was between June and early August.

Recently, the range of the deer has expanded worldwide, with dramatic increases in abundance; yet relatively little is known about how these increases influence other mammals at high trophic levels. A recent study showed that high deer density exerts cascading effects on raccoon dogs, omnivorous carnivores, because of any increase in their prey abundance in Oku-Nikko, Japan. Here, we examined the diet of Japanese badgers, another omnivorous carnivore, outside a deer-proof fence and compared carnivore abundance inside and outside the fence in Oku-Nikko, to assess whether high deer density outside the fence influences the carnivore. Earthworms and insects, the population of which increased by high deer density, were frequently found in badger fecal samples outside the fence. Outside the fence, the deer density was 13.5/km² and the badger relative density was 0.16, whereas inside the fence, the deer density was only 2.3/km² and the badger relative density was 0.01. A statistical test showed that this inverse relationship was significant. We propose that the grazing pressure associated with high deer density impacts habitat conditions, increasing earthworm and insect abundance, which then increases omnivorous carnivore foraging opportunities and population densities.

We used radio telemetry to study the home range, activity patterns, arboreality and day refuges of the Korean wood mouse Apodemus peninsulae (Thomas, 1907) during fall and winter in a temperate forest in Korea. The mean home range size in fall was 1,998 ± 1,732 m² (range: 599–7,798 m²; n = 14); winter home range size could not be estimated because the mice were minimally active in winter and few movements were identified. Males tended to have larger home ranges than did females, although this difference was not statistically significant. In the fall, Korean wood mice were primarily nocturnal and crepuscular, and they often used several day refuges. Male and female activity levels were not significantly different. No direct evidence of arboreality was found.

Procedures and mechanisms of bamboo cell wall digestion in the giant panda were studied, in which several indirect methods were combined to avoid spoiling the intactness of the experimental animal. Examinations with surface scanning electron microscopy showed less extensive degradation of bamboo leaf tissues in panda feces than in the residue of sheep rumen digestion. Amounts of remaining fermentable organic matter, as estimated from the amount of volatile fatty acid produced during rumen fermentation in vitro, were much higher in the panda feces than in the residue of sheep rumen digestion. Incubation of fresh excreted panda feces for 12 hr at 37°C simulating extension of the digestion time caused no further progress of digestion. In vitro digestion with gastric juice of the panda showed some decrease of substrate cellulose at lower pH without corresponding reducing sugar production, although neither apparent cellulose digestion nor reducing sugar production was found with pressed fluid of the panda feces. Results showed that no bamboo cell wall digestion occurred with microbes or enzymes in the digestive tract of the panda.

Bats that typically forage in the forest understorey can be difficult to capture using mist nets or harp traps alone. We assessed the effectiveness of an ultrasonic lure for increasing capture rates of vespertilionid bats in two forest zones in Japan. One sequence of stimuli was modelled on social calls of four species that typically forage in narrow-space; the other on those of four species that forage along edges and in forest gaps. The lure increased capture rates by 24.5 times in cool temperate deciduous forest in Hokkaido, and 9.75 times in warm temperate evergreen rain forest in Yakushima, compared with the control condition. Narrow-space foraging bats of the genus Murina dominated the catch at both sites and were caught most frequently when the trap was located in the cluttered environment of the forest understorey. There was no significant effect of call type on capture rate. The lure is an effective method for increasing capture rates of bats and particularly for narrow-space foraging species within the forest, which are otherwise difficult to catch. Acoustic lures have great potential for enhancing study and survey capabilities for forest bats.