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Mark Brazil

Mark Brazil, a Briton based in Hokkaido, has written about the natural history of Japan in his Wild Watch column for over 30 years. After careers in conservation and natural history television, Mark taught for nine years at a university in Hokkaido before going freelance. He now travels the world as a lecturer and leader on wildlife-focused expeditions.

For Mark Brazil's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH

Nov 3, 1999

How to read a bird's lifestyle in its feet

A reflexologist will tell you that feet reveal a great deal about a person's physical state, and that cures can be administered via the feet.

ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH

Oct 20, 1999

Ducking out for a nature moment

Among the smaller waterfowl, there are basically two types: There are ducks that dive, and there are those that dabble. Diving ducks, such as the tufted duck, scaup, scoter, harlequin and long-tailed duck, are birds of open, deep water, birds of lakes, coasts and the open ocean. Dabbling ducks, on the other hand, are birds of ponds and streams, shallow lakes and marshes. Some of them can be seen in considerable concentrations in Japan during the winter.

ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH

Oct 6, 1999

When trappers outfoxed the Bering islands

The red fox is a familiar creature here in Japan, but travel northward and it is soon replaced by another species. At higher latitudes, the arctic or polar fox is the ubiquitous hardy scavenger and predator. It is better adapted to the colder conditions, with a shorter muzzle, smaller ears and a thicker, denser coat than the red fox. It is about three quarters the size of a red fox, and unlike that animal, it has fur on the soles of its feet, which give it excellent insulation throughout the winter while foraging across snow- and ice-covered habitats.

ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH

Sep 15, 1999

Roaming the world's watery dunes

As the typhoon season cuts between summer and autumn, many species are on the move. This is the season of migration for land birds and seabirds. While the land birds island-hop between Northeast and Southeast Asia, some of the seabirds are embarking on journeys that may span entire oceans. Streaked shearwaters around Japan, for example, will be heading off as far as Australia.

ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH

Sep 1, 1999

The water is wide, I cannot get o'er

The mammals of the Nansei Shoto may be inconspicuous and difficult to observe, but their distribution, and the relationships between the different species and populations in these islands, provides insight into the past history of the archipelago. This interesting mixture of animals has links in the north to Honshu and in the south to Taiwan and the Asian continent. Unique forms have evolved locally, especially in the central islands of the archipelago.

ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH

Aug 18, 1999

Refuge of the world's wildest rabbit

The wildlife of the Nansei Shoto is a fascinating mixture of species, and as is clear from recent research on the spiny rats that are unique to the central islands, there may be more species there than we realize.

ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH

Aug 4, 1999

Islands of diversity and divergence

Although the islands of New Zealand, which I wrote about last time, are fascinating, we don't need to travel so far to find isolated islands supporting interesting biodiversity. Japan's own southern archipelago, straggling from Kyushu toward Taiwan, known as the Nansei Shoto, is so rich in both flora and fauna, and such a fine example of the effects of isolation, that the islands have quite rightly been called the Asian Galapagos.

ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH

Jun 2, 1999

Island life a short cut to evolution

Japan is not just an island; it is an archipelago.

ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH

May 19, 1999

Back bayous of the Danube Delta

Adrift on a boat, with a wall of freshly leafed willows passing steadily on each side, I could not help thinking of Ratty and Mole's adventures on the river in "The Wind in the Willows." There were fresh mole hills to be found on the banks, and here and there holes in the riverbanks that might just have been those of Ratty's relatives the water voles. The otter spraints on exposed tree roots, and the flurry of wings overhead, the to and fro of hordes of great and pygmy cormorants, were real, however, not imaginary.

ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH

Mar 17, 1999

'Managing' marine mammals to death

Part two of two parts

ENVIRONMENT / WILD WATCH

Mar 3, 1999

The lion kings of the northern seas

Though in Japan's southernmost islands temperatures are already reaching into the 20s C, which many would call summer weather, in the north the temperatures have been fluttering and dipping, generally remaining well on the frigid side and with the definite feel of winter. In fact, some of the major lakes have only frozen in the last month, and with colder temperatures further north still, the drifting pack ice or sea-ice only reached the Okhotsk Coast of Hokkaido in early February, turning what was a leaden gray seascape brilliant white.

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.

The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

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