Ueno Zoo, Tama Zoo Tokyo Sea Life Park, and Inokashira Park Zoo annually solicit research reports on the animals and creatures they house and exhibit. Zoos and aquariums, which house and display a diverse range of animals, are ideal places to observe animals firsthand and explore their mysteries. This year, we received many submissions from junior high and high school students.

We are pleased to announce that two research reports from the junior high school division have been selected as the annual best works, and one from the junior high school division and two from the high school division have been selected as annual encouragement award winners, as detailed below.

Junior High School Division (titles omitted)

2 best works of the year
- "A bird with tiger stripes? The true identity of the yokai Nue and the secret of the fence" by Airi Takahashi (1st year junior high school student, Shotoku Gakuen Junior High School)
　The contents of the research report are here.


White's Thrush
[Selector's Comments]
Starting with a simple question that arose at the familiar Inokashira Park Zoo, the author spent time observing the thrush, not only exploring the mysterious nature of its call, which is said to resemble that of a mythical creature, but also identifying and developing new research topics. In addition to observation, the author supplements their research with interviews with staff and information gathering using the internet, but above all, they always value and summarize the results obtained from their own observations. Their interest in the differences in exhibit facilities for different bird species in the latter half of the book is a unique perspective. We hope that they will continue to cherish their own questions and continue their observations at zoos and aquariums.

- "Observing Shoebill" by Minami Kimura (1st year junior high school student, Showa Women's University Affiliated Showa Junior High School)
　The contents of the research report are here.


Shoebill
[Selector's Comments]
The widely held belief that Shoebill immobile bird served as the starting point for this research. However, many also hypothesize that even if the bird is immobile, it cannot live entirely without movement. What was most outstanding about this report was that, in order to answer this question, the author continuously observed a single Shoebill from the opening to closing time of Ueno Zoo. The analysis of the number of movements every 30 minutes revealed trends over time through statistical processing. Further analysis of the behavior should be developed to create a more detailed description of Shoebill 's diurnal behavior.

Encouragement Award: 1 item
- "The Story of the Patterns of Japanese Newt" by Misora Sanbongi (1st year junior high school student, Yamawaki Gakuen Junior High School)

High school division (titles omitted)

Encouragement Award (2 entries)
- "On the range of changes in the migration speed of Pacific Bluefin Tuna" - Aone Kawai (1st year high school student, Toyonan High School)

"A Comparison of Exercise Levels in Tuna and Scalloped Hammerhead in the Wild and in Captivity" - Souto Matsuhashi (1st Year High School Student, Toyonan High School)

We are also accepting submissions for the "Zoo and Aquarium Report Challenge" research report this year. Regarding applications for 2023 If you have any questions regarding tips for observing living creatures or how to write a report, please contact us by email. We also provide support for submissions made as school assignments.

Contact email: edu-center@tzps.or.jp

(March 27, 2023)