An otter once found throughout Japan, the Japanese River Otter was a nocturnal creature that would claim a territory of upwards of 10 miles (16 kilometres) to forage after dark. Dens and nests were set up within this area that the individual otter would check on constantly. Living in solitude save for outside of mating, they could live to be upwards of 25 years old. They were the top carnivore in their river food chains.

The populations of the Japanese River Otter dwindled quickly after the Meiji period and only continued to decline throughout the 1900s. The hunt for their pelts to sell as an export items was the first pressure on the otter, but as human populations grew, the destruction of their habitats along with newfound pollution destabilized an already struggling species. They were also used as a medicine for tuberculosis.

After no individuals were found for 30 years, the species was declared extinct in 2012 by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment.

Extinction Date: 2012