The Iriomote cat: facts, where to learn about it, and what visitors must do
The Iriomote cat (イリオモテヤマネコ, Iriomote yamaneko) is a small wild cat that lives on Iriomote and nowhere else, with about 100 animals left. You will almost certainly not see one, but you can learn about it for free at the Ministry of the Environment's centre on the island, and your driving decides whether it survives.
What it is
The cat belongs to the order Carnivora, family Felidae, and the Ministry of the Environment lists it as Prionailurus bengalensis iriomotensis, a leopard cat subspecies found only on Iriomote (Ministry of the Environment, species page). It is the only carnivore in the World Heritage area and the island's top predator, and Iriomote is described as the world's smallest island where wild cats live (Ministry of the Environment, World Heritage page). Its taxonomy is still discussed: the IUCN Cat Specialist Group now groups the Iriomote population with the mainland leopard cat (IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group).
It became known to science in 1965, and the scientific paper describing it followed in 1967 (Iriomote Wildlife Conservation Center, What is an Iriomote cat?). The animal writer Yukio Togawa (戸川幸夫) was among those who found it in 1965 and collected the first skins and bones, according to the conservation fund his daughter founded (JTEF, history of the Iriomote cat fund).
Size, diet and habitat
An adult weighs 3 to 4 kg with a head and body length of 50 to 60 cm (Ministry of the Environment); the conservation centre gives 3 to 5 kg (IWCC). The tail is 23 to 24 cm (Biodiversity Center of Japan).
Most small wild cats live mainly on small mammals. This one eats almost anything it can catch: lizards, snakes, frogs, crickets, fruit bats, birds and freshwater prawns (IWCC). It favours lowland wetlands and the banks of rivers and streams, and also turns up in mangroves and around farmland (Ministry of the Environment). That is exactly where the coastal road runs.
It is mainly nocturnal, most active at dusk and dawn, and solitary. Settled females use ranges of about 1 to 3 km² and males about 2 to 7 km². Kittens, usually one or two, are born between April and June and become independent in autumn and winter (IWCC).
How many are left, and how protected it is
The Ministry's fourth comprehensive survey (fiscal 2005 to 2007) estimated 100 to 109 cats and judged the trend as declining (Ministry of the Environment). The centre quotes about 100 from a 2008 survey (IWCC). No newer island-wide figure has been published.
- Natural Monument of Japan in 1972, upgraded to Special Natural Monument in 1977.
- National Endangered Species under the Species Conservation Act in 1994.
- Critically Endangered (IA) on the Ministry of the Environment Red List (Ministry of the Environment).
- IUCN: the subspecies was considered Critically Endangered because fewer than 250 remain in a single declining population, while the leopard cat as a whole is Least Concern (IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group).
In July 2021 UNESCO inscribed Iriomote with Amami-Oshima, Tokunoshima and northern Okinawa Island as a Natural World Heritage site. UNESCO names the Iriomote cat among its key species and says roadkill of the cat must be "kept at an absolute minimum" (UNESCO World Heritage Centre).
Threats: cars first
Road traffic is the threat visitors can change. The centre has recorded 103 traffic accidents from 1978 to 12 October 2026, and 95 of those cats died (IWCC, accident count). The worst year was 2018 with 9 accidents; 2023 had none (Ministry of the Environment, Okinawa Amami office). Most accidents happen after sunset and at night (Okinawa Prefecture, World Natural Heritage). In autumn, young cats leaving their mothers come onto roads more often (IWCC, October 2026 driving map).
The other threats the Ministry lists are loss and change of good habitat, and domestic cats that can pass on diseases such as feline immunodeficiency virus and compete for space. Taketomi Town's cat-keeping ordinance therefore requires microchip registration of pet cats and quarantine for any cat brought to Iriomote (Ministry of the Environment).
The road rules and the Yamaneko signs
The Ministry asks drivers to keep to "island speed", 40 km/h or slower (Ministry of the Environment, Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park), and the centre repeats the 40 km/h request (IWCC FAQ). Measures on the road include zebra markings, cat crossing warning signs, underpasses for animals and mobile warning boards moved to fresh sighting spots (IWCC, protecting the cat).
Two stretches of prefectural road 215 are marked as accident prevention zones, nicknamed the "Yamaneko yonna road" (yonna means "slowly" in the local dialect): 3 km in the west from the Urauchi River viewpoint to Sonai village, and 6 km in the east from the Nobarazaki viewpoint to the Shiira Bridge road park (後良橋). The zones are reviewed every year from April (IWCC, accident prevention).
The Iriomote Wildlife Conservation Center
The Ministry of the Environment opened the centre (西表野生生物保護センター) in 1995 in Komi, on the east side of the island (Ministry of the Environment, centre page).
- Hours: 10:00 to 17:00.
- Closed: Mondays (Tuesday if Monday is a public holiday), 23 June, and 29 December to 3 January.
- Admission: free (Ministry of the Environment).
- Getting there: about 15 minutes by car or bus from Ohara Port and 45 minutes from Uehara Port. From the "Yasei Seibutsu Hogo Center" bus stop it is about 700 m, a 10-minute walk uphill. There are 10 parking spaces (IWCC access, IWCC FAQ).
Inside are stuffed specimens, a 15-minute film and a driving simulator added in the July 2022 renewal. Shoes come off at the door, and flash photography is not allowed. The centre also closes at short notice, for example for typhoons (IWCC).
Can you see one?
Honestly, almost never. The centre does not show live cats; rescued animals are kept out of public view so they stay wild enough to be released (IWCC FAQ). Night tours run on the island, but even a hotel that sells one says on its Japanese page that you may meet a cat only if you are lucky (Hoshino Resorts Iriomote Hotel, night safari). People do see them, mostly beside the roads: 49 sightings were reported in September 2026, plotted along the coastal road on the centre's map (IWCC driving map).
What to do if you see one, or find one hurt
- Injured or dead cat: call the Yamaneko emergency line, 0980-85-5581 (from abroad +81-980-85-5581), open 24 hours (IWCC).
- A healthy cat: stay back and watch quietly (IWCC FAQ). Do not shine a torch or camera flash at it, and never feed it (Okinawa Prefecture).
- Report the sighting on the centre's sighting form. Sightings decide where the warning boards go.
- Leave pets at home. Okinawa Prefecture asks visitors not to bring pets or other animals to the island (Okinawa Prefecture).
{{note}}Since March 2025 five fields on Iriomote, including the Pinaisara Falls area, need advance approval and a fee before entry. The rules, lead time and fees are on our Iriomote island guide.{{/note}}
Plan the trip
For the island itself, the ports, the rental-car question and the entry rules, read the Iriomote island guide. For boats, times and which port to choose, see ferries from Ishigaki to Iriomote.
Guided Iriomote tours
Facts on this page link to their sources; checked 2026-11-03.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Yamaneko warning sign on Iriomote (2006): sota, CC BY-SA 2.0; Pinaisara Falls, Iriomote: Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY 2.0; Mangroves on the Nakama River, Iriomote: 663highland, CC BY 2.5; Iriomote cat specimen at the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo: Daderot, CC0.
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