Kasuga Primeval Forest, Japan

Kasuga Primeval Forest above Nara seems to be Japan’s answer to Mongolia’s Yolyn Am. Last night I spent four hours spotlighting there and saw nine species of large mammals: in addition to numerous sika deer, wild boars, and Japanese giant flying squirrels, there were a red fox, a Japanese weasel, a raccoon dog, a Japanese badger (unfortunately, not seen well), plus introduced northern raccoon and masked palm civet. I walked from Kasuga Taisha Temple to Mt. Wakakusa and then to Maizu Waterfall. Interestingly, I saw no small mammals at all, except for one large bat flying over (probably Japanese noctule).