(#10) Many Of The Rabbits Are Ill Or Injured From Tourism
According to Margo DeMello, president of the rescue group House Rabbit Society, the food, interaction, and carelessness of some visitors leaves the rabbits with injuries and ailments. Rabbits require fiber that they naturally find in roots, seeds, and leaves. Unfortunately, many people visiting Rabbit Island bring foods only bunnies in stories eat, such as cabbage, carrots, or regular lettuce. Although some rabbits can tolerate carrots on rare occasions, the cabbage is nigh indigestible for the creatures.
Along with food-related illness, they can suffer from respiratory illnesses caught from their proximity to humans. Those not suffering from the effects are struck down by tourists driving cars and being unable to avoid one of the hundreds of rabbits tearing across the island in search of humans and food.
(#6) When Poison Gas Museum Opened In 1988, Larger Numbers Of People Were Introduced To Swarms Of Friendly Bunnies
The Poison Gas Museum opened on Ōkunoshima in 1988, bringing tourists to the island and teaching them about the consequences of chemical warfare. Once tourists encountered the rabbits and their friendly demeanor, the island eventually added a golf course, advertised the beaches, and placed campgrounds.
The rabbits increasingly relied on the visitors for food, as their overabundance ruined the natural ecosystem of Ōkunoshima.
(#2) The Island Was Removed From Maps To Keep The Project Hidden
Likely already unknown to the general populace, Ōkunoshima was removed from maps of Japan to keep it off the radar of enemies. As the Japanese created so much toxic gas there over nearly 20 years, keeping 'Poison Gas Island' hidden was of high importance to the government due to their agreement to the Geneva Protocol.
This Protocol banned the use of chemical warfare in armed conflicts, hence the need for secrecy.
(#7) A Video On YouTube Demonstrating A 'Bunny Tsunami' Went Viral, Increasing Tourism To The Island
A huge new audience of people learned of Rabbit Island in 2014 when a YouTube video filmed on the island went viral, attracting students and younger people to the island in the stead of the usual elderly tourists.
Any quick search of the island brings up a myriad of photos showing tourists covered in rabbits. They feed the rabbits, pet them, welcome them into their laps, and provide the perfect advertisement for more visitors to Ōkunoshima. Although cute, it is a vicious circle of the rabbits depending on people to survive.
(#1) Once Called 'Poisoned Gas Island,' 6,000 Tons Of It Was Produced There Over Two Decades
Ten years before the start of WWII, the Japanese government used Ōkunoshima to produce more than 6,000 tons of toxic gas from 1929 until 1945. The island is perfectly located in the East Sea/Inland Sea of Japan, far from civilians and the eyes of enemies.
The gas manufactured included mustard and phosgene, used on the Chinese with a purported casualty toll of 80,000.
(#4) Another Legend Is That A British Couple Brought Their Bunnies To The Island
While there are hundreds of rabbits located on the island today, some theorize that a British couple visiting Ōkunoshima started the humongous pack by leaving their own pets there.
This alleged British couple have no names and there's no timeframe for their visit on the island, but their story persists as the origin of the current friendly, aggressive, and plentiful pack there.
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The Okunoshima island in Japan has attracted the attention of tourists from all over the world in recent years. It is one of the islands in the Seto Inland Sea Artisan Islands. Because there are many rabbits that live on the island, it is also called Rabbit Island. It was designated as the Seto Inland Sea National Park in 1934. But such a lovely island has a very dark history and cruel tragedies.
Rabbit Island was the site of Japan’s poison gas factory during World War II. This island, which disappeared from the map at that time, was used as a site for the manufacture of chemical weapons and human experiments during the war. Our random tool collected random 10 mystery and tragic truths about the island.
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