Wild Boar Invade Japan's 'Rabbit Paradise,' Now Hunting Rabbits

Okunoshima “Rabbit Island” in Japan Sees Surge in Wild Boar Population
“Possible Unforeseen Impacts on the Ecosystem”

A famous Japanese tourist destination, known as a paradise for wild rabbits, is now facing a crisis due to a sudden increase in wild boar. The wild boar are not only eating leftover food abandoned by tourists, but are also attacking and preying on live rabbits.

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun on August 10 (local time), wild boar have recently been spotted attacking live rabbits on Okunoshima Island, located in Takehara City, Hiroshima Prefecture. In some disturbing cases, wild boar have been witnessed catching and eating rabbits, shocking visitors and locals alike.

Okunoshima is an uninhabited island about 4 kilometers in diameter in Setonaikai National Park. In the 1970s, European rabbits introduced from outside quickly became wild and multiplied in number. Today, over 500 wild rabbits inhabit the island, turning it into a “rabbit paradise.” This has earned it the nickname “Rabbit Island,” and made it a unique and popular tourist destination. Approximately 200,000 tourists visit the island every year.

Okunoshima Island, famously known as "Rabbit Island," a popular tourist destination. Dive Hiroshima website

However, wild boar have been drawn by leftover food among the snacks tourists feed the wild rabbits. According to Japan’s Ministry of the Environment, wild boar did not originally live on Okunoshima, but they began to appear around 15 years ago. Authorities speculate that wild boar swam across the sea to the island and began feeding on vegetables and other food tourists brought for the rabbits, leading to a rise in the wild boar population.

One observation team even witnessed a wild boar attacking a male rabbit near the dock in March 2024, then disappearing into the forest with the rabbit’s body in its mouth. Investigators also discovered rabbit carcasses believed to have been eaten by wild boar. While there have previously been reports of wild boar feeding on dead rabbit carcasses, this is reportedly the first time, even internationally, that wild boar have been observed actively attacking and eating live rabbits.

Wild boar. Photo unrelated to the article content. Photo by Yonhap News

Shingo Kaneko, a professor of conservation ecology at Fukushima University, told the paper, “The feeding by tourists has ultimately encouraged wild boar to settle on the island, which appears to have led to behavior never previously observed. We must consider the possibility that this is having unforeseen impacts on the ecosystem.”

The Japanese Ministry of the Environment has now begun implementing countermeasures. In cooperation with the local tourism association and other organizations, an “Okunoshima Future Creation Implementation Committee” has been formed, and tourists are being urged to collect and remove any leftover rabbit food without fail.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.