Home > Case Studies > Animal-Pathway Project in Hokuto-city

Animal-Pathway Project in Hokuto-city

Enwit Co., Ltd.

Shimizu Corporation, Taisei Corporation, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corporation

This is a research and development project to demonstrate the efficacy of animal pathways constructed to allow animals to pass across man-made structures, such as roads and railways, that bisect forests and to help preserve the genetic robustness of small arboreal animals, such as the Japanese dormouse (a species that is listed as near threatened and registered as a natural monument), Japanese squirrels and small Japanese field mice, by increasing their access to habitat and removing obstacles to food and opportunities for reproduction.

The project is based in the forests of Hokuto-city, Yamanashi Prefecture and is being spearheaded by the KEEP (Kiyosato Educational Experiment Project) Association Foundation’s Yamane Museum, a research facility, in collaboration with four companies.

Currently, one pathway has been established in partnership with Hokuto-city to demonstrate its effectiveness, with two animal pathways being built above public roads, the monitoring of which has confirmed its use by wildlife more than 800 times over a three-month period. As a result, activities are being taken to establish similar structures both domestically and overseas.