TOKYO: Masanori Hata, better known by the nickname “Mutsugoro” and famous for his books and television programs featuring animals, died of a heart attack at a hospital in Nakashibetsu, Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, on Wednesday. He was 87.

A native of the southwestern Japan city of Fukuoka, Hata studied biology at the University of Tokyo and then joined education company Gakken Co., now Gakken Holdings Co., where he engaged in projects such as creating documentary films.

The animal researcher fully started to pursue writing after leaving the company in 1968 and won the Essayist Club of Japan Prize in the same year for animal-themed essay collection “Warera Dobutsu Mina Kyodai.” He later won the Kikuchi Kan Prize for works depicting his experiences of spending time with animals.

Hata moved to Hokkaido in 1971 and opened Mutsugoro Animal Kingdom the following year.

His TV program “Mutsugoro to Yukai na Nakamatachi” became a hit, running for over 20 years since the first episode was aired in 1980. He also directed 1986 movie “The Adventures of Milo and Otis,” which featured a kitten and a pug puppy.

In 2017, Hata developed a heart attack. He had been resting at home since then, but collapsed again on Wednesday, according to informed sources.

JIJI Press