Hokkaidō Animals in Their Element

Brown bear cubs sparring playfully. (© Mizukoshi Takeshi)

Mother and cubs on the lookout for salmon and trout. (© Mizukoshi Takeshi)

A brown bear napping peacefully. (© Mizukoshi Takeshi)

A Yezo Ural owl in winter. (© Mizukoshi Takeshi)

A Blakiston'’s fish owl naps atop a branch in the daytime. (© Mizukoshi Takeshi)

Owls fly silently as they home in on their prey. Even the huge Blakiston’s fish owl glides noiselessly through the night sky. (© Mizukoshi Takeshi)

A Blakiston’s fish owl sinks its claws into a trout. (© Mizukoshi Takeshi)

A red-crowned crane soars high above. (© Mizukoshi Takeshi)

A family of red-crowned cranes in a snowy field. (© Mizukoshi Takeshi)

The cranes’ mating dance. The birds mate every year around February. (© Mizukoshi Takeshi)

Sika deer under a full moon. (© Mizukoshi Takeshi)

Sika deer dash across the frozen surface of Lake Fūren. (© Mizukoshi Takeshi)

Sika deer foraging for grass in the snow. (© Mizukoshi Takeshi)

Swans on Lake Kussharo in winter. (© Mizukoshi Takeshi)

Swans on a winter morning. (©  Mizukoshi Takeshi)

Northern pika dwell in mountainous rocky areas such as the Daisetsuzan or Hidaka ranges. (© Mizukoshi Takeshi)