The mammal lives on fish and shrimp and records show that Japanese river otters lived all over Japan until the Meiji era through 1912 and on Tsushima Island during the Edo period between 1603 and 1868. However, research to verify of its existence is still being continued today. Japanese cryptid, the legendary Kappa, which is a sort of bipedal, frog-like creature thought to inhabit Japanese rivers. It is thought by some in cryptozoological circles here in Japan to be an explanation behind the sightings of another (an – otter?) During the 1990s, great efforts were made to try and locate surviving Japanese River Otters to save them from going extinct. The Japanese River Otter, ... Efforts/Proof to Validate the Existence of the Japanese River Otter – Sightings, Discoveries, Etc. ＊ A wild otter was filmed on Nagasaki Prefecture's Tsushima Island in February 6th, 2017, marking the first sighting in Japan in 38 years. Interestingly, the Japanese River Otter is connected to cryptozoology in more ways than one. Dating back to the 1880s, it was even seen in Tokyo.The population suddenly shrank in the 1930s, and the mammal nearly vanished. It is thought by some in cryptozoological circles here in Japan to be an explanation behind the sightings of another Japanese cryptid, the legendary Kappa, which is a sort of bipedal, frog-like creature thought to inhabit Japanese rivers. The ministry said in 2012 the Japanese river otter was designated as extinct species because it had not been seen alive for more than 30 years. The Japanese river otter (Japanese: ニホンカワウソ(日本川獺 ー, Hepburn: Nihon-kawauso) (Lutra lutra whiteleyi) is an extinct variety of otter formerly widespread in Japan. Hunting for otter fur and pollution in river habitats had caused a sharp decline in the animal’s population. Interestingly, the Japanese River Otter is connected to cryptozoology in more ways than one. A river otter was last spotted in 1979 in the city of Susaki, Kochi Prefecture. ＊ Sightings of Witness of Japanese River Otter have not been recorded since 1979.