Japan's Oldest Giant Salamander Breeding Facility: An Experience at Hiroshima City Asa Zoological Park

The zoo began field research on giant salamanders in 1970, one year before it officially opened. Its first director, Mr. Obara, believed that “a zoo should be a place of research, where we study the wildlife of Hiroshima and share what we learn with the public.” Today, the Japanese giant salamander is widely known as a nationally designated Special Natural Monument. Atthe time, however, although its morphology, general distribution, and breeding season had already been documented, much about its detailed ecology in Hiroshima Prefecture remained unknown.