Shireoko - Wildlife of Japan

2022.04.03 update

Shiretoko Peninsula: Brown Bears and Whales Drifting Ashore

Our guestouse in Rausu, Shiretoko Serai’s nature guide, Shohei Morita wrote a report from the 2021 Summer Season!

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This year I could see many brown bears!

Along the Shiretoko Pass which connects Rausu to Utoro, I could see brown bears many times along the way. Due to the pandemic and its effects, this year the tourists coming to Shiretoko Peninsula was much less than usual, so we had less traffic, compared to before.

Also, I could see many brown bears on the boat cruises that leave from Rausu’s Aidomari fishing port. We used the small boat that is usually used for Kelp farming, and I was able to get this shot of the bear from the boat. From summer to autumn, brown bears are attracted to the small rivers along the coast to catch the salmon run.

Year after year, the number of salmon are decreasing while the number of fishermen continues to increase. This makes the situation difficult and a lot of stress on the bears. But despite that, I saw a momma bear teaching her cub how to catch salmon.

There was an unusual encounter with the carcass of a whale washed ashore, and the brown bears gathered around it. It is said that it has been more than 10 years since a large whale had been washed ashore.

It is a large whale, perhaps either a fin whale or a humpback whale.

This is a mother bear with her two cubs who had been born this year. This year’s bad fishing year made the national news, but locally, for the fisherman and especially for the brown bears, it was a big blow. I just hope that this abnormal situation in the sea will end as soon as possible, and that there can be a return of the “Rich seas of Shiretoko.”
And I hope that these two cubs can survive the winter.

Photo & text: Shohei MORITA (Shiretoko Serai)
Observation: Summer – Autumn 2021, Rausu, Shiretoko, Hokkaido

*Contact us, Saiyu Travel for more information about wildlife and bird watching in Hokkaido. We can make various arrangements for your trip. We have a guesthouse, Shiretoko Serai, in Rausu, Shiretoko Peninsula.

Tags: Shohei Morita, Rausu, Brown Bear Photography Boat, Shiretoko Serai, Shireoko, Shireoko Misaki, Wildlife in Hokkaido, Shiretoko peninsula, Cape Shiretoko, 羅臼, Shiretoko, Shari, Shohei Morita Photography, Aidomari, Brown Bear, Rusha, Wildlife of Hokkaido, Ezo-brown bear, Rusha River, Wildlife of Japan, Higuma, 知床, Wildlife Photography tour in Japan, Ezo Higuma, Wildlife in Japan, Wildlife tour in Japan, Brown Bear Photography, 知床サライ, Higuma Photography boat

2021.11.01 update

Steller’s Sea Eagle On The Drift Ice（Rausu, Shiretoko Peninsula）

This is a Steller’s Sea Eagle that we observed during a Drift Ice Cruise from Rausu, Shiretoko Peninsula. It is such a handsome looking bird of prey, with white wings, a white tail, and a large yellow beak and yellow legs.

When open, the wingspan measures 220 to 250cm (7.2 – 8.2 feet), and the weight can be heavy from 5 to 9 kg (11-20 lbs), and the females are usually a bit larger than the males.

They breed on the coasts of the Sea of Okhotsk and the coast of Kamchatka Peninsula, and in the winter a small part of that population will come to the southern part of the Kuril Islands and Hokkaido. There are about 3,200 pairs in the world, and about 2,000 individuals are thought to migrate to Hokkaido for the winter.

The name “Steller’s Sea Eagle” came from the German naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller.

Steller was of German but he joined the Russian expedition of Vitus Bering who set out to explore the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands. In 1741, after Bering died of illness on Bering Island, now part of the Commander Islands, the remaining crew and Steller were able to escape and returned home to tell the world of the newly discovered sea animals, such as the Steller’s sea cow and the seabirds living in the area.

Then, as an unfortunate result of being “discovered,” the Steller’s sea cow was overfished and gone extinct within only 27 years of its discovery. Spectacled cormorants were also extinct by 1852.

The reconstructed skeleton of the Steller’s sea cow on display in a private gallery on Bearing Island, Commander Islands.

Returning to the Steller’s sea eagles, they spend the winter in Hokkaido and move back north in the first week of March. It is thought that these Sea eagles did not originally migrate long distances, but came floating on the drift ice to Hokkaido and the Kuril Islands. Then they would return to their breeding grounds for the courtship season. They will lay 1-3 eggs between April to May.

The Steller’s sea eagles against the backdrop of the town of Rausu. Soon, they will be heading back North.

Photo & Text: Mariko SAWADA
Observation: February 2018, Rausu, Shiretoko Peninsula, Hokkaido

Tags: Shiretoko Serai, Wildlife tour in Japan, Shireoko, Wildlife in Hokkaido, Shiretoko peninsula, 羅臼, Oowashi, White-tailed eagle, Ojirowashi, White-tailed sea eagle, 知床, Steller's sea eagle, Birding tour Japan, Wildlife of Hokkaido, Rausu, Bird tour Japan, Wildlife of Japan, Rausu drift ice cruise, Bird Watching Japan, Birds of Hokkaido, Eagle photography of Japan, Wildlife in Japan, Birds of Japan, Birds Photography of Japan, 知床サライ, Wildlife Photography tour in Japan, Rausu sunrise drift ice cruise

2021.10.21 update

Spectacular View! Rausu Drift Ice Cruise at Dawn (Rausu, Shiretoko Peninsula)

This is a report from our February 28th Rausu Drift Ice Cruise. We were told to be at the harbor at 4:45 in the morning, so we went straight from the “Washi no Yado”, where we were observing the Blakiston’s Owl up until 4:30am. Without a cloud in the sky, the stars were shining so brightly, in the crisp wintery air of Shiretoko. We headed to the harbor, filled with expectations thinking “Today might be a beautiful day.”

As we departed, I took this shot looking back at the town of Rausu with the backdrop of mountains on the Shiretoko Peninsula.

The Kunashir Island blanketed with red. The captain announced, “Today the drift ice is very close.” Sure enough, we could soon make out the dark shadowy outline of the drift ice.

The drift ice in the foreground, with Kunashiri Island behind. It is beautifully silhouetted in the morning light. The captain let us know “The sun will come out soon.” Everyone was waiting on the deck.

Daybreak.

The Steller’s sea eagles on the drift ice with the morning sun.

The Steller’s sea eagles and White-tailed eagles started to gather around our boat (and the crows too!) Besides that, it was a really beautiful day today!

There are endless shutter clicks on the deck of the ship. Many foreigner bird photographers are on board for the tour and it is not limited to just Japanese people. The early morning daybreak cruise is quite a “hard challenge” because we had just stayed up all night, for observing the Blakiston’s Fish Owls, but this scenery is a wonderful reward for our efforts.

Photo & Text: Mariko SAWADA
Observation: February 2018, Rausu, Siretoko Peninsula, Hokkaido

2021.10.01 update

Beyond Cape Shiretoko: Mother and cub brown bears of Shiretoko Peninsula

On a nice calm day, with no wind or waves, we cruised from Aidomari around Cape Shiretoko in search of brown bears just before Rusha river in Shari town.

Now we are starting to see Cape Shiretoko! While on the cruise, depending on the location, the weather and conditions can change suddenly with wind and waves. On this day, Shiretoko was “stable”, but there was some waves along the way, since we were on an extended cruise.

This is the Shiretoko Misaki lighthouse. After passing that point, we entered the Sea of Okhotsk where usually there is a significant difference in the sea conditions between the Rausu and Shari sides, which are separated by the Shiretoko mountain range. However, it was a calm and sunny day on both sides.

The Cape Shiretoko has a plateau at 30-40m high, but the vegetation there was cut in the pioneering days, has never returned. There is also a factor that the Ezo-sika deer population has increased too much and is ruining the vegetation. The area from the central part to the northern part of Shiretoko Peninsula became a national park in 1964 and was later designated as World Heritage Site in 2005. Currently power boats are not allowed on land, but you can observe the landscape and wildlife from boats along the coast.

Same as on the Rausu side, there are abandoned fishing houses “banya” along the coast on the Shari side as well. The terrain on the Shari side makes it much more challenging for humans to reach.

Found them…the Brown bear mother and her cub.

The cute scene of a baby bear trying to keep up with the mother bear.

This little cub is just as curious about us. Since we perhaps were catching their attention too much, so we moved away from the coast and made our way towards the mountains.

Another pair of bears. This mother had walking with her a very young cub.

The mother bear makes her way up the slope while eating grass. And two little cubs trying to keep up.

Looks like they are a bit worried about the boat, and I apologized to them for interrupting them.

Photo & text: Mariko SAWADA
Observation: Aug 2020, Shiretoko Peninsula
Special Thanks : Mr.Koichi TENJIN, Mr.Shohei MORITA (Shiretoko Serai知床サライ)

Tags: Rusha River, Wildlife Photography tour in Japan, Higuma, 知床, Wildlife tour in Japan, Ezo Higuma, Wildlife in Japan, Brown Bear Photography, 知床サライ, Rausu, Higuma Photography boat, Shohei Morita, Shireoko, Brown Bear Photography Boat, Shiretoko Serai, Shiretoko peninsula, Shireoko Misaki, Wildlife in Hokkaido, Ezo-red fox, Cape Shiretoko, 羅臼, Shiretoko, Shari, ヒグマ, Aidomari, Wildlife of Hokkaido, Brown Bear, Rusha, Wildlife of Japan, Ezo-brown bear

2021.09.21 update

Pink Salmon Swimming Upstream : Autumn on the Shiretoko Peninsula

Pink Salmon, called “Kurafuto masu” in Japanese, return to the rivers on the Shiretoko Peninsula. These salmon came from the rivers and migrated out into the Northern seas for about two years; then return to their natal rivers to spawn.

These salmon just in front of me are on the verge of death. The Pink Salmon embody the very raw ‘act of living’ in their tattered appearance. We, who eat these salmon, must have gratitude in our hearts.

Salmon Run- Pink Salmon Going Upstream in the Fall in Shiretoko Peninsula

Compared to other salmon species, the Pink Salmon do not have a strong “Homing Instinct” and will swim upstream of any freshwater rivers nearby. In the year this video was filmed (2016), the peninsula had experienced 3 typhoons in mid-August. This had caused the salmon net that had been set along the coast to come loose, and it enabled a large number of salmon to make it upstream.

Pink Salmon that were caught in the net.

This is the mass of Pink salmon gathered at the bottom of a waterfall. Their dorsal fins are sticking out from the surface of the water.

A Pink salmon trying to swim up the waterfall.

A Brown bear that has caught a salmon. This is the time of year that the brown bears are the thinnest and can be seen desperately chasing the Pink salmon.

Image & text: Mariko SAWADA
(Photos/video are from a trip in Aug 2016 & Sep 2017)
Location: Rausu, Shiretoko Peninsula, Hokkaido

Special Thanks : Shiretoko Diving Kikaku 知床ダイビング企画

Tags: Wildlife in Japan, Wildlife of Hokkaido, Brown Bear, 知床サライ, Wildlife of Japan, Higuma, Shiretoko Serai, Wildlife Photography tour in Japan, Brown Bear Photography Hokkaido, Wildlife in Hokkaido, Wildlife tour in Japan, Pink Salmon, KARAFUTOMASU, KARAFUTO-MASU, Rausu, Salmon Run Hokkaido, Shireoko, Ezo Higuma, Shiretoko peninsula, Pink Salmon Swimming Upstream, Shiretoko, 知床

2021.09.11 update

Shiretoko Peninsula – Brown Bears Catching Pink Salmon

In late August, the Shiretoko Peninsula sees the return of the Pink salmon. However, due to a lack of rainfall, the rivers are too shallow for the salmon to swim upstream. As a result, the fish gather along the shore, in the sea, near the mouth of the river.

This is where the Rausu fishermen set up their nets, as do the brown bears, in the same area. This is the time of year when the brown bears are the most hungry and thinnest. The bears will venture into the ocean to catch the pink salmon that cannot enter the river.

This is the scene near “Pekin-no-hana”, on Shiretoko Pennisula with the fishing brown bear. It is like the White-tailed eagle is sitting just behind the bear, as if saying “Hurry up and catch something!” As the bear heads into the ocean…

A bear in the sea water.

The bear dunks its head into the water over and over, while swimming, to look for the Pink salmon underfoot.

It caught a female Pink salmon!

The roe, fish eggs, started overflowing with every bite.

It is probably too tiring to keep swimming while eating, so the bear heads back to the beach. It was there for a while, munching on the salmon with its backside facing us. After finishing off the main parts, the bear heads back into the sea for another round.

The White-tailed eagle quickly moves in to secure the leftover food. Then the crows move in for some leftovers too.

Then, just when we thought this bear would return to fishing, it got distracted and started playing with the net buoys! This must have been a young bear that was still holding on to its playful nature. Our customers who were with us, really enjoyed watching the fun-loving cute bear.

Eventually, it tired of playing and returned to the beach. It was a lovely chance to catch the last moments of summer with the brown bear.

Photography & text : Mariko SAWADA

Special Thanks : Mr.Kokichi TENJIN & Shohei MORITA(SHIRETOKO SERAI（知床サライ)

Tags: Wildlife Photography tour in Japan, Brown Bear, Wildlife tour in Japan, Ezo-brown bear, Higuma, White-tailed sea eagle, Brown Bear Photography Hokkaido, Rausu, 知床, Birds Photography of Japan, Shohei Morita, Shireoko, Wildlife of Hokkaido, Shiretoko peninsula, Wildlife of Japan, Ojirowashi, Birds of Hokkaido, Shiretoko, Birds of Japan

2021.03.31 update

Bird Photography : Steller’s Sea Eagle and White-tailed Eagle (Rausu, Hokkaido)

Winter 2021 Eastern Hokkaido Photography Tour Report

This time, for the Rausu Drift Ice Cruise, there was no drift ice out at sea, so the photography cruise took place in the fishing port.
Due to that situation, however, it proved to be challenging to get photos of the Steller’s sea eagle and White-tailed eagles without any buildings in the background. For the first half of the tour I was trying to get them with the ice and snow as the backdrop, and then for the second half I mainly took shots of them flying in the air. The staff on the ship assisted in this effort by expertly throwing the fish in the air.

A Steller’s sea eagle flying towards our boat.

Battling for food mid-air.

I wondered if it is just less risky to steal another eagle’s fish rather than grabbing the ones that have fallen on the ice surface?

Fierce competition.

Oh no! You dropped your fish!

Perhaps the White-tailed eagles are a little more mature? I had the impression that the fights occurred more amongst the Steller’s sea eagles (maybe it just seemed that way for that particular morning tour).

Although I was taking photos in the fishing port (it’s hard to call it a ‘cruise’ since we didn’t get out to sea!) we were blessed with good weather where we could see the beautiful eagles flying in the skies above.

Photo & Text: Mariko SAWADA
Observation: Feb 2021, Rausu, Hokkaido
Special Thanks: The staff at Gojira-iwa Kanko

Tags: Birds Photography of Japan, Shiretoko Serai, Wildlife Photography tour in Japan, Rausu sunrise drift ice cruise, Wildlife in Hokkaido, Wildlife tour in Japan, Shireoko, 羅臼, Shiretoko peninsula, オオワシ, Oowashi, White-tailed eagle, Ojirowashi, White-tailed sea eagle, Birding tour Japan, Steller's sea eagle, Bird tour Japan, Wildlife of Hokkaido, Rausu, Bird Watching Japan, Wildlife of Japan, Rausu drift ice cruise, Wildlife in Japan, Birds of Hokkaido, Eagle photography of Japan, 知床サライ, Birds of Japan