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The race to save the Japanese giant salamander

Conservationists are calling for an alternative vision of rural development in order to protect the species from extinction

The Japanese giant salamander has been protected as a cultural property under Japanese law since it was declared a “special natural monument” in 1952, but conservationists say more needs to be done to protect its wider habitat. | GETTY IMAGES

By Kantaro Suzuki and Mara Budgen
Contributing writers

Jan 16, 2023

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, dozens of international visitors traveled thousands of kilometers each year to Nichinan, Tottori Prefecture, to see an ancient creature found only in the rivers of central and western Japan — the Japanese giant salamander.

The amphibian can grow up to 1.5 meters in length, weigh as much as 40 kilograms and is the second largest of the world’s three main giant salamander species.

“You can see where all the lore and myth (comes) from (when encountering) one of these incredible, enormous river dragons,” says Coyote Peterson, star of the Brave Wilderness YouTube channel, in a video about Japanese giant salamanders filmed in Tottori in 2018.

The race to save the Japanese giant salamander

Conservationists are calling for an alternative vision of rural development in order to protect the species from extinction

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