| Izu Shaboten Zoo | |
| Location: | Itō, Shizuoka, Japan |
| Coordinates: | 34.9072°N 139.1008°W |
| Num Animals: | ~800 |
| Num Species: | ~140 |
| Owner: | Izu Shaboten Resort Co., Ltd. |
Izu Shaboten Zoo (Japanese:, Hepburn:) is a zoological park and botanical garden in Itō, Shizuoka, Japan. Founded in 1959, the zoo is currently notable for its exhibited capybaras and succulent greenhouses and is open year-round.
The Izu Shaboten Zoo was founded in 1959. It is named for its location on the Izu Peninsula while shaboten (シャボテン) is a Japanese word that commonly referred to cacti up until the 1960s. The word saboten (サボテン) is more often used, however the zoo retained its name since its opening.[1]
The Izu Shaboten Zoo has a total of about 800 animals of 140 species, including monkeys, parrots, flamingos, fennec foxes, capybaras, penguins, peacocks, kangaroos, sloths, anteaters, coatis, and red pandas.
One of the zoo's most popular animals is the capybara, a large semi-aquatic rodent native to South America. The zoo features a hot spring known as the "capybara bath", open for visitors to view. It was created in 1982 when an employee cleaning the enclosure with hot water noticed the capybaras huddling together in a warm puddle. Continuing on since the year it started, employees will prepare a warm yuzu bath for the capybaras during winter and early spring. The Izu Shaboten Zoo is the first zoo to have this, and other zoos now also feature it.[2]
The capybaras have influenced a character named Kapibara-san, and a series of merchandise based on the character, such as plush toys.[3] Video clips of the capybaras have gained millions of views.[2]
The zoo has two boat tours to and around animal exhibits in the zoo:[1]
Hosted at the zoo are different types animal shows with dogs, parrots, and monkeys.[1]
The zoo has over 1,500 different cactus species and other succulents as well as other plants throughout five different greenhouses, listed in order of arrangement along the pathway:[1]
At the end of the greenhouses is a garden where visitors can purchase pots and pick cacti and other succulents.[1]
The zoo has five restaurants—Bell Station, Café Sherry, Chao, Gibbontei (Forest Animal Restaurant), and Hanamasubi—and the Animal Mart gift shop.[4]
Gibbontei, also called the Forest Animal Restaurant, is the zoo's main restaurant. It serves meals such as a capybara-shaped hamburger and a cactus-shaped curry made from the plant itself.[5] [1] In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant famously used large plush capybaras to encourage social distancing inside the restaurant.[6]