Brown bear, Eurasian river otter, red fox, eurasian lynx, leopard cat and sable are fairly numerous (as are reindeer in the north); rarely seen, but still present, is the elusive Sakhalin musk deer, a subspecies of Siberian musk deer. Smaller mammals include hare, squirrels, and various rodents (including rats and mice) nearly everywhere. The bird population is made-up of mostly the common eastern Siberian forms, but there are some endemic or near-endemic breeding species, notably the endangered Nordmann's greenshank (Tringa guttifer) and the Sakhalin leaf warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides). The rivers swarm with fish, especially species of salmon (Oncorhynchus). Numerous cetaceans visit the sea coast, including the endangered Western Pacific gray whale,https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/8099/50345475 for which the waters off of Sakhalin are their only known feeding ground, thus being a vitally important region for their population's longevity. Other cetaceans known to occur in this area are the North Pacific right whale, the bowhead whale, and the beluga whale, the latter two generally preferring icy waters and colder conditions to the north. All are potential prey species for the highly social killer whale, or orca. The once-common Japanese sea lion and Japanese sea otter, both hunted to extinction, formerly ranged from Japan's coastline to Sakhalin, Korea, Kamchatka, and the Yellow Sea; however, over-harvesting depleted their numbers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Today, ringed seals and the giant Steller sea lion can be spotted around Sakhalin Island.
Brown bear, Eurasian river otter, red fox, eurasian lynx, leopard cat and sable are fairly numerous (as are reindeer in the north); rarely seen, but still present, is the elusive Sakhalin musk deer, a subspecies of Siberian musk deer. Smaller mammals include hare, squirrels, and various rodents (including rats and mice) nearly everywhere. The bird population is made-up of mostly the common eastern Siberian forms, but there are some endemic or near-endemic breeding species, notably the endangered Nordmann's greenshank (Tringa guttifer) and the Sakhalin leaf warbler (Phylloscopus borealoides). The rivers swarm with fish, especially species of salmon (Oncorhynchus). Numerous cetaceans visit the sea coast, including the endangered Western Pacific gray whale,https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/8099/50345475 for which the waters off of Sakhalin are their only known feeding ground, thus being a vitally important region for their population's longevity. Other cetaceans known to occur in this area are the North Pacific right whale, the bowhead whale, and the beluga whale, the latter two generally preferring icy waters and colder condi.tions to the north. All are potential prey species for the highly social killer whale, or orca. The once-common Japanese sea lion and Japanese sea otter, both hunted to extinction, formerly ranged from Japan's coastline to Sakhalin, Korea, Kamchatka, and the Yellow Sea; however, ove!r-harvesting depleted their numbers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Today, ringed seals and the giant Steller sea lion can be spotted around Sakhalin Island.