Japanese otter

The Japanese otter, Lutra nippon, also called the Japanese river otter, is an extinct species of otter that was formerly widespread in Japan. It was once seen as far as Tokyo in the 1880s, but its population suddenly shrank in the 1930s and nearly vanished. Later sightings were few: in the Seto Inland Sea in 1964, in the Uwa Sea in 1972 and 1973, and finally in the southern part of Kochi Prefecture in 1979, when one was photographed at the mouth of the Shinjo River in Susaki. It was then classified as Critically Endangered on the Japanese Red List, and on 28 August 2012 the Ministry of the Environment officially declared it extinct. It was known as one of the top carnivores in the aquatic food chain, was nocturnal, leaving its den only after dark to forage, and could live up to 25 years. It is the official animal symbol of Ehime Prefecture.