SINGAPORE: The Singapore Zoo in Mandai recently welcomed a pair of special guests from Japan.
Racoon dogs Pom and Poko are the first animals here under an exchange programme between Wildlife Reserves Singapore and Asahiyama Zoo in Hokkaido.
Known as 'tanuki' in Japanese, these animals are native to East Asia and are popularly portrayed as happy-go-lucky tricksters in Japanese folklore.
In tanuki folklore, "ponpoko" is said to be the sound a tanuki makes when it drums its own belly.
Pom and Poko are in quarantine right now, and visitors will get to see them in a permanent exhibit at the upcoming River Safari, set to open in early 2012.
This is one of the longest running blogs on the topic of Japan. The blog is about things occurring in Japan. All topics are fair game. I have been deep in the Japanese global community for 20 years, so ask questions if you have any. The blog started out focusing on the many unusual and literally ancient animals in Japan. Over time people wanted to know, see, and read more, so I expanded the blog.
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The Japanese Bobtail is a breed of cat with an unusual 'bobbed' tail more closely resembling the tail of a rabbit than that of an or...
Interesting Blog.
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