Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 8 hours ago
Two wolves once prowled the mountains and forests of Japan. They were revered as deities, and respected as protectors of travelers and fields, until forces from outside the islands changed everything. Now, one wolf is gone for good, while the other, even though it’s likely extinct, is still being hunted.
Support the show by getting an Endling pin: https://complexly.store/products/endlings-hourglass-pin
Endlings portrait illustrations are by Zoe Keller. You can find out more about her and her work here: zoekeller.com
Thumbnail photos by Hiroshi Yagi.
Follow us on socials:
Instagram: instagram.com/bizarrebeastsshow
Facebook: facebook.com/BizarreBeastsShow
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bizarrebeastsshow.bsky.social
#BizarreBeasts #endlings #wolves
-----
Sources:
Walker, B. L. (2009). The lost wolves of Japan. University of Washington Press.
bbc.com/future/article/20191011-the-hunt-for-japans-ghost-wolves
cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(20)31101-9?uuid=uuid%3Ae79d710d-128d-49cd-80e4-69c957914168
env.go.jp/earth/coop/coop/materials/08-ttmnce/08-ttmnce-21.pdf
akarenga-h.jp/en/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/p2_3_e.pdf
sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790314002711?via%3Dihub
frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution/articles/10.3389/fevo.2022.782528/full#B86
bioone.org/journals/zoological-science/volume-26/issue-11/zsj.26.765/Mitochondrial-DNA-Analysis-of-the-Japanese-Wolf-Canis-Lupus-Hodophilax/10.2108/zsj.26.765.full
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7753132
pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/gigantism-and-dwarfism-islands
cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(20)31101-9?uuid=uuid%3Ae79d710d-128d-49cd-80e4-69c957914168
ainu-upopoy.jp/en/ainu-culture
jstor.org/stable/pdf/1178791.pdf
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5380354
features.japantimes.co.jp/1-search-japan-wolves
features.japantimes.co.jp/2-search-japan-wolves
nytimes.com/2021/03/10/science/thylacines-tasmanian-tigers-sightings.html
australianhumanitiesreview.org/2018/12/02/the-cultural-politics-of-mourning-in-the-era-of-mass-extinction-thylacine-specimen-p762
japantimes.co.jp/life/2019/09/13/environment/debate-japans-extinct-wolf-grows
psmag.com/environment/can-wolves-save-japanese-forests
japan-wolf.org/proposal
japan-forward.com/reintroducing-wolves-a-new-hope-for-japanese-ecosystems
conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/cobi.14130
cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/full/10.1079/9781800622975.0019
features.japantimes.co.jp/4-search-japan-wolves
sapiens.org/archaeology/ainu-prejudice-pride
science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abh2419
ainu.ninjal.ac.jp/folklore/corpus/en
------
Images:
docs.google.com/document/d/1aPwnx80qbr3nGhaavnc83C3tYFNqQRJ9P12fh_nZzWc/edit?usp=sharing
Two wolves once prowled the mountains and forests of Japan. They were revered as deities, and respected as protectors of travelers and fields, until forces from outside the islands changed everything. Now, one wolf is gone for good, while the other, even though it’s likely extinct, is still being hunted.
Support the show by getting an Endling pin: https://complexly.store/products/endlings-hourglass-pin
Endlings portrait illustrations are by Zoe Keller. You can find out more about her and her work here: zoekeller.com
Thumbnail photos by Hiroshi Yagi.
Follow us on socials:
Instagram: instagram.com/bizarrebeastsshow
Facebook: facebook.com/BizarreBeastsShow
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bizarrebeastsshow.bsky.social
#BizarreBeasts #endlings #wolves
-----
Sources:
Walker, B. L. (2009). The lost wolves of Japan. University of Washington Press.
bbc.com/future/article/20191011-the-hunt-for-japans-ghost-wolves
cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(20)31101-9?uuid=uuid%3Ae79d710d-128d-49cd-80e4-69c957914168
env.go.jp/earth/coop/coop/materials/08-ttmnce/08-ttmnce-21.pdf
akarenga-h.jp/en/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/p2_3_e.pdf
sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790314002711?via%3Dihub
frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution/articles/10.3389/fevo.2022.782528/full#B86
bioone.org/journals/zoological-science/volume-26/issue-11/zsj.26.765/Mitochondrial-DNA-Analysis-of-the-Japanese-Wolf-Canis-Lupus-Hodophilax/10.2108/zsj.26.765.full
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7753132
pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/gigantism-and-dwarfism-islands
cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(20)31101-9?uuid=uuid%3Ae79d710d-128d-49cd-80e4-69c957914168
ainu-upopoy.jp/en/ainu-culture
jstor.org/stable/pdf/1178791.pdf
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5380354
features.japantimes.co.jp/1-search-japan-wolves
features.japantimes.co.jp/2-search-japan-wolves
nytimes.com/2021/03/10/science/thylacines-tasmanian-tigers-sightings.html
australianhumanitiesreview.org/2018/12/02/the-cultural-politics-of-mourning-in-the-era-of-mass-extinction-thylacine-specimen-p762
japantimes.co.jp/life/2019/09/13/environment/debate-japans-extinct-wolf-grows
psmag.com/environment/can-wolves-save-japanese-forests
japan-wolf.org/proposal
japan-forward.com/reintroducing-wolves-a-new-hope-for-japanese-ecosystems
conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/cobi.14130
cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/full/10.1079/9781800622975.0019
features.japantimes.co.jp/4-search-japan-wolves
sapiens.org/archaeology/ainu-prejudice-pride
science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abh2419
ainu.ninjal.ac.jp/folklore/corpus/en
------
Images:
docs.google.com/document/d/1aPwnx80qbr3nGhaavnc83C3tYFNqQRJ9P12fh_nZzWc/edit?usp=sharing
