Amami Oshima (?????) is a semi-tropical island in the
Ryukyu Archipelago (also known as the Nansei Islands) in
Japan.
Oshima literally means
big island, and it is the largest of the
Amami Islands. It lies roughly halfway between the islands of
Okinawa and
Kyushu. Formerly part of the
Ryukyu Kingdom, in 1624 it was annexed by the
daimyo of
Satsuma. It also spent approximately seven years under American control following World War II.
Amami Oshima is home to several rare or endangered animals, including the Amami Rabbit and the Lidth's Jay, both of which are now found only in Amami Oshima and Tokunoshima. The Amami rabbit is sometimes called a living fossil because it represents an ancient Asian lineage that has elsewhere disappeared.
The island is also home to the habu, a variety of poisonous snake that can be found throughout the Ryukyu Islands. Mongooses were brought in to kill some of the habu, as the bite from one can be fatal. As of today, the mongooses have bred with each other and are now becoming another problem. In fact, the increase in the mongoose population has been linked to the decline of the Amami rabbit and other endemic species.[1]
Amami Oshima is located approximately 300 km north of Okinawa Island and 380 km south of Kyushu. It is surrounded by the East China Sea on the west and the Pacific Ocean on the East. With an area of 712.35 km², it is the second-largest of the Ryukyu Islands after Okinawa Island and the seventh-largest island in Japan (excluding the disputed Kuril Islands).
