Japanese Giant Salamander Spawning — Hino River Japan
The Japanese giant salamander (Andrias japonicus) — a 1.5-metre, 25-kg entirely aquatic amphibian unchanged in form since the Cretaceous — spawns in August and September when dominant males defend nest chambers under stream boulders and repel rival males to mate with multiple females whose eggs (400–600 per clutch) the nest male then guards for 40 days. The Hino River in Tottori Prefecture and the Ōta River in Hiroshima Prefecture are the most accessible monitoring sites. The Hino River's traditional otter-skin ceremony — local communities' ancient ritual honouring the giant salamander as a deity — adds cultural depth to one of Japan's most significant and unusual wildlife encounters, and the evening survey by torch of known nest boulder sites, with the male's enormous flat head visible at the boulder's edge, is one of Japan's most powerful herpetological experiences.
About this spectacle
On warm August and September nights along the Hino River in Tottori Prefecture, one of Japan's rarest and most ancient creatures emerges for its annual spawning ritual. Japanese giant salamanders — flat, wrinkled, slate-grey animals stretching up to 1.5 metres and weighing up to 25 kg — wedge themselves beneath stream boulders to guard clutches of 400–600 pearl-like eggs. Guided evening surveys by torchlight reveal the extraordinary sight of a dominant male's enormous flat head peering from the boulder's edge, flanked occasionally by rival males attempting to infiltrate the nest. The water is cool and clear, the river dark, and the only sounds are rushing water and the crunch of gravel underfoot. The animals are almost motionless but unmistakably present — prehistoric in appearance, unchanged since the Cretaceous. Local communities mark the season with a traditional ceremony honouring the salamander, adding a sense of place and continuity to an already extraordinary encounter. This is intimate, small-group herpetology at its most elemental.
When to go
Aug — Sep
Getting there
Nearest airport: TTJ. Nearest city: Tottori.
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