Adventure World

Adventure World (; Adobenchā Wārudo) is an amusement park with a zoo and public aquarium located in the town of Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. It is operated by Hours Co., Ltd. (AWS), an affiliate of Marusue Co., Ltd. headquartered in Matsubara, Osaka Prefecture. The park opened on April 22, 1978, as Nanki Shirahama World Safari.

Operating under the motto of "contact between humans, animals, and nature", Adventure World consists of a zoo, aquarium, and an amusement park. The park's many facilities include a giant panda breeding exhibition and dolphin and sea lion shows. The park also hosts various animal-themed restaurants and cafes, as well as academic tours. In January 2023, two lions at Adventure World died of COVID-19 after contact with an infected employee. A further eight lions became infected, but recovered.

The Adventure World zoo is divided into several different areas and attractions: Safari World – Carnivore Zone, Herbivore Zone Panda Love – Giant panda exhibition facility Breeding Center – Giant panda breeding facility Wanwan Garden – Dogs ('Wanwan' is a Japanese onomatopoeia for a dogs bark) Fureai Square – Pygmy hippopotamuses, capybaras, small monkeys, chimpanzees, birds such as parakeets, etc. Flamingo Square – Flamingos and red pandas Elephant Fureai Square – Asian elephants Horse Camp – Horses and birds of prey

Adventure World operates as the Japanese branch of the Chengdu Giant Panda Research Base in Chengdu, China. The giant panda breeding research project had successfully bred 17 giant pandas by September 2018, the highest number in the world both in terms of live births and mature offspring maintained outside of mainland China. As of September 12, 2018, Adventure World was home to six of the ten captive pandas in Japan; Ueno Zoo had three, and Kobe Oji Zoo had one. Panda Love, the park's panda center, provides an open area where pandas can roam at will. All the giant pandas currently in captivity, including offspring, are owned by the Chengdu Giant Panda Research Base. The giant pandas at the park are a massive tourism attraction for Shirahama, known colloquially as 'The Panda Town'. On July 11, 2019, The Wakayama Prefectural Police named Saihama, one of the park's giant pandas, the "Traffic Safety Wakayama Dream Ambassador" to raise awareness for road traffic safety. Saihama appeared in posters and promotional products to raise awareness for traffic safety. In July 2022, as part of the "Wakayama Summer Traffic Safety Movement", Ayahama became the new mascot of the campaign. All pandas born at the research base have names that carry the suffix hin (e.g., Rauhin). Eimei fathered 14 pandas, except for the 1st (Yoshihama), and the 6th panda, who died shortly after birth. Eimei gave birth to Ranbao (male) in 2002 at the Lanzhou Zoo in China via artificial insemination from Ran and Shulan (twin sisters born from Umeume), but he died on August 30, 2012.

(In order of birth, regardless of transfer date) In March 2011, Wakayama Prefecture Governor Yoshinobu Nisaka gave the title of Wakayama Prefecture Honore to three pandas: Eimei, Rauhan, and Meimei. This followed the Tama Stationmaster at Kishi Station on the Wakayama Electric Railway Kishigawa Line, and acted as a recognition and tribute to the nationwide dissemination of the charm of Wakayama Prefecture by increasing the number of panda families.

Zoo data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).