We installed 10 motion-activated sensor cameras for 35 days within and around a pig farm facility in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, to investigate mammalian fauna that may transmit pathogens to pigs. The farm was surrounded by both electric fences and net fences in a double layer to prevent the invasion of wild boars, which can carry the swine fever virus. Five cameras were set in the forest area outside the fences and the remaining five were set inside the fences within the facility. A total of eight mammal species or groups of species were detected: wild boar, raccoon dogs, red foxes, Japanese hares, Japanese martens, domestic cats, rats, and bats. Large numbers of rats were seen within the facility. Wild boars were detected only in the forests outside the fences, and fences were thought to be effective in preventing wild boar invasion. Red foxes and raccoon dogs were photographed both inside and outside the fences, implying that they moved freely across the fence line. These medium-sized carnivora might have been attracted to the rats and livestock feed within the facility as food resources. These animals have the potential to transmit, indirectly, pathogenic viruses to pigs, such as swine fever, by carrying the virus on their bodies or defecating the virus within the facility. Thus, countermeasures are required to prevent the invasion of these wild animals.

 A brown bear (Ursus arctos) intruded into Higashi-ku, Sapporo City, Hokkaido, Japan, on June 18, 2021, and it attacked four people and caused injury. To prevent similar accidents, it is important to clarify the reason of the intrusion. In this study, we examined feces and stomach contents of the bear captured after the accident and analyzed carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of body tissues to estimate the feeding history of the bear. The isotope ratios of hairs indicated that the bear had been on plant-based diets the year before the capture from spring to summer in 2020, but it seems to have started consuming salmon from summer to autumn in 2020, returned to a plant-based diet in the spring of 2021, and then abruptly started consuming river fish in June just before the capture. The isotope ratio of liver and the observations of its feces and stomach contents also indicated that the bear consumed river fish just before the capture. There was no evidence that the bear was dependent on anthropogenic food in garbage or on agricultural products. The bear had probably fished in the Ishikari River and surrounding small rivers, and fed on plants in vegetation-rich areas for several weeks before the capture. For bears, urban greening and green corridors are beginning to serve as temporary habitats or as intrusion routes into cities. Appropriate anti-intrusion measures are required for these green areas to prevent citizens from encountering bears.

 The objective of this study was to examine the utility of aquatic cage traps with glow sticks for capture of Ezo salamander (Hynobius retardatus) in Hokkaido, Japan. From April 4-9, 2020, I conducted a captive survey of the Ezo salamander at two ponds located in Kushiro Town, Hokkaido, Japan. For this study, I used aquatic cage traps with and without glow sticks. The results of this study have demonstrated that the use of aquatic cage traps is an effective method for capturing this species when they are active in water bodies. Furthermore, the glow sticks were effective in increasing the capture efficiency. These findings are highly useful in their potential application in future research and conservation of the Ezo salamander. They can also play a key role in research on other domestic species that have similar ecological characteristics and breeding habitats to Ezo salamanders.

 The status and trend of national designated Wildlife Protection Area were examined by comprehensively analyzing the data of all current 86 plans based on four designation categories.

 The correlation between designated areas and the number of species were considerable in birds of “large migration areas type” and in mammals of almost all categories (especially “endangered species habitat type”). For mammals, the correlation was higher in large areas than in small areas. In “large-scale habitat type,” the higher the land form diversity and the proportion of Special Protection Area were, the larger the number of bird species inhabiting it was.

 The “large migration areas type” was being designated, with the promotion of registration to the Ramsar Site, as an important wetland, which should be priority target to the valuable tidal flats left from land development. Moreover, the percentage of the designation of Special Protection Area was higher than that of other categories.

 The “colonial breeding areas type” was mostly targeted at seabird colonies and was designated as islands, especially uninhabited islands. Future designations are required for breeding areas of bats and marine mammals.

 The “endangered species habitat type” was designated as an area that overlaps with natural parks. Moreover, many cases had conservation and breeding projects based on the Act on the Conservation of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora for same target species as Wildlife Protection Area.

 The introduction of conservation programs in Wildlife Protection Area and the positive designation of Special Protection Area should be performed using all four categories in collaboration with the regulations and programs of these other laws. Furthermore, necessary areas, such as undesignated candidate sites, should be further designated.

 Changes in vegetation and land use in satoyama landscapes have influenced the biota in many hilly and mountainous regions of Japan since the period of rapid economic growth from the 1950s to the 1970s. Small-scale tea farms located in hilly/mountainous regions have characteristic fauna and flora. This study examined the changes in farming systems, vegetation, and land use since the 1950s, the current fauna and flora, and the relationships between people and wildlife in the tea-producing area of Ujitawara, Kyoto Prefecture. Field studies were conducted from January 2021 to January 2023, and aerial photos were analyzed. Tea-cultivation methods changed in the 1970s, from caring for randomly growing tea trees of a local variety to planting tea trees of improved varieties in rows, from applying green manure to applying chemical fertilizer, and from harvesting by hand with scissors to machine harvesting. Grassland with shrubs (39.4%) and planted coniferous forests (35.5%) covered the largest areas in 1967, whereas the former decreased to 9.9% and the latter increased to 60.5% by 2021. We recorded 6 orders, 12 families, and 16 species of mammals; 10 orders, 26 families, and 50 species of birds; and 90 families, 186 genera, and 251 species of vascular plants, including species listed in the Red Data Book of Kyoto Prefecture. Although the considerable decrease in the area of grassland with shrubs might have influenced the fauna and flora, animals and plants that prefer to live in grassland, such as the fringed pink (Dianthus superbus var. longicalycinus) grew in the small area of remaining grassland, and the Japanese bush warbler (Cettia diphone), meadow bunting (Emberiza cioides), black-faced bunting (Emberiza spodocephala), and green pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) were observed in the tea farms. The Japanese hare (Lepus brachyurus), which is known to live in the tea farms at the study site, was not recorded. Sika deer (Cervus nippon) grazed grass in the tea farms. According to the tea producers, deer also damaged the tea trees by browsing on their leaves. Balancing agricultural production and environmental management requires study of the relationships between people and wildlife, which are being transformed through the changes in farming systems, vegetation, land use, fauna, and flora.