First Photographic Record of the Japanese Serow in Hakone Town, Kanagawa Prefecture, since the Meiji Era

Abstract

 This study aimed to investigate the distribution of Japanese serows (Capricornis crispus) in Hakone, Kanagawa, Japan, which has not been confirmed since the Meiji era. A total of 15 automatic cameras were set up from October 2017 to September 2020 (12047.6 camera-days) in the Hakone Nature Forest of Tamagawa University. Japanese serows were observed on four occasions (October 31, 2017, and June 3, June 4, and September 14, 2019) at two sites, providing the first reliable record of the presence of serows in Hakone. Although the previously confirmed areas inhabited by Japanese serows were at a distance > 10 km from the present study area, the recorded distance was considerably larger than the diameter of the home ranges (which was assumed to be circular in shape) and the dispersal distances of Japanese serows. The findings of this study suggest that Japanese serows may be continuously distributed from the study area to the previously confirmed inhabited areas.