Zoo Lost to the Ravages of War: an Unrecorded Tragedy

Eighty-one years after the end of the war, aging survivors in Yokosuka are reaching the limits of what can be learned from firsthand accounts. A zoo that existed in the city was destroyed in the conflict, but this loss is not recorded in Yokosuka’s official documents. Local citizens who remember the zoo are trying to preserve and share their recollections before those living witnesses are gone. The omission highlights gaps in the municipality’s historical record and raises questions about how wartime civilian losses are documented.