“Père David’s deer, a species that once disappeared from Japan.”
この画像は広島市安佐動物公園のシフゾウのアスカ♂
この施設には以前はメスもいたが、繁殖できずに死亡した。
日本でシフゾウを見られる動物園は、広島市と熊本市だけになりました。
またこのシフゾウは自然界ではいちど全滅していて、世界でも大変に貴重な動物と言えます。
少し前にも東京都多摩動物公園での個体も死亡したという記事を見ました（直前に訪れ撮影しました）
This photograph shows Asuka, a male Père David’s deer, kept at Hiroshima City Asa Zoological Park.
This facility previously housed a female as well; however, breeding was unsuccessful, and she later passed away.
As a result, Père David’s deer can now be seen at only two zoos in Japan: Hiroshima City Asa Zoological Park and Kumamoto City Zoo.
Père David’s deer once became completely extinct in the wild. Thanks to international conservation efforts, the species has survived, making it one of the rarest and most precious deer species in the world today.
Not long ago, I came across news reporting the death of a Père David’s deer at Tama Zoological Park in Tokyo.
I had visited the park and photographed the animal shortly before that, which made the news feel especially close and personal.
シフゾウは鹿のなかまで、ツノが抜けて生え変わります。
ちょうどこの個体も春の終わりでのツノの成長段階で、産毛のようなものも見えます。
展示してある抜けたツノを持つことも出来ますが、かなり重たいのでシカの苦労が少し感じられるようになっています。
The Père David’s deer belongs to the deer family, and like other deer species, it sheds and regrows its antlers.
This individual was photographed at the end of spring, during the antler growth stage. The antlers are still covered with a soft, velvet-like layer, which is clearly visible.
Visitors can also hold a naturally shed antler displayed at the zoo. It is surprisingly heavy, allowing people to physically sense the burden that deer carry during the antler-growing season.
シフゾウは水が大好きなんだそう！！
先日よいニュースが入ってきました。
園内の近くでツキノワグマが確認されて閉鎖されていた広島市安佐動物公園の西側が解放されたということです。
ここには、このシフゾウや人気のレッサーパンダ、それに私が大好きなエリマキキツネザルがいます。
日本で消えていくシフゾウの、広島で見ることのできる残り少ない貴重な時間を、たくさんの人に知ってもらい、見てもらいたいと思い、この記事を作りました。
Père David’s deer are said to love water.
Recently, there was some good news.
The western area of Hiroshima City Asa Zoological Park, which had been temporarily closed after an Asiatic black bear was spotted nearby, has now been reopened.
This area is home to Père David’s deer, the popular red panda, and the ring-tailed lemur—one of my personal favorites.
Père David’s deer are gradually disappearing from Japan. Knowing that the time left to see them here in Hiroshima is limited, I wrote this article in the hope that more people will learn about them and take the opportunity to see them while they still can.
