Zoos in Japan are bringing the animals home to those locked down because of coronavirus restrictions and closures, with a series of animal live streams that allow viewers to experience virtual tours.

Japan’s Hirakawa Zoological Park located in Kagoshima offers daily live streams of two of its rarest animals, a white tiger and a whale shark. The white tiger can usually be seen between 9 a.m.to 4 p.m., whereas the whale shark in its aquarium tank is streamed from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The Satsukiyama Zoo located at Satsukiyama Park in Osaka, has a livestream showcasing a family of four wombats, which are iconic Australian-native marsupials (the young develop in mother’s pouch), characterized for their burrowing, short legs, and resemblance to bears. The website allows viewers to move the camera around the pen to provide an immersive virtual experience from multiple angles.

The Nihondaira Zoo has live streams of its two resident polar bears, named Rossi and Vanilla.

The zoo has recreated the area that the polar bears reside in to match their natural habitat, so they can be seen walking around a pond and when doing backflips on the surface of the water.

The polar bears are streamed daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.


The Jigokudani Monkey Park in Nagano also offers two live-streaming cameras showcasing the snow monkeys, which can be seen swimming in hot springs.

The Miaou’s feline room livestreams 10 cats that live in a private den on YouTube. As with most house cats, they sleep for the majority of the day. Nonetheless, viewers can enjoy the sight of watching cats play and cuddle next to each other.