Japanese Macaques
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The Japanese macaque (''Macaca fuscata''), also known as the snow monkey, is a terrestrial
Old World monkey Old World monkey is the common English name for a family of primates known taxonomically as the Cercopithecidae (). Twenty-four genera and 138 species are recognized, making it the largest primate family. Old World monkey genera include baboons ...
species that is native to
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. Colloquially, they are referred to as "snow monkeys" because some live in areas where snow covers the ground for months each year – no other non-human primate lives further north, nor in a colder climate. Individuals have brownish grey fur, pinkish-red faces, and short tails. Two subspecies are known. In Japan, the species is known as ''Nihonzaru'' (ニホンザル, a combination of ''Nihon'' 日本 "Japan" + ''saru'' 猿 "monkey") to distinguish it from other primates, but the Japanese macaque is very familiar in Japan — as it is the only species of monkey in Japan — so when Japanese people simply say ''saru'', they usually have the Japanese macaque in mind.


Physical characteristics

The Japanese macaque is
sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...
. Males weigh on average , while females average .Fooden J, Aimi M. (2005) "Systematic review of Japanese macaques, ''Macaca fuscata'' (Gray, 1870) ". ''Fieldiana: Zoology'' 104:1-200. Macaques from colder areas tend to weigh more than ones from warmer areas.Hamada Y, Watanabe T, Iwamoto M. (1996) "Morphological variations among local populations of Japanese macaque (''Macaca fuscata'') ". In: Shotake T, Wada K, editors. ''Variations in the Asian macaques''. Tokyo: Tokai Univ Pr. pp. 97–115. The average height for males is , while the average female height is . The size of their brain is approximately . Japanese macaques have short stumps for tails that average in males and in females. The macaque has a pinkish face and posterior. The rest of its body is covered in brown or greyish hair. The coat of the macaque is well-adapted to the cold and its thickness increases as temperatures decrease. The macaque can cope with temperatures as low as −20 °C (−4 °F). Macaques mostly move on all fours. They are semiterrestrial, with females spending more time in the trees and males spending more time on the ground. Macaques are known to leap. They are very good swimmers and have been reported to swim a distance of more than half a kilometer. The lifespan of Japanese macaques is up to 32 years for females and up to 28 years for males, which is high when compared to what typically is seen in other
macaque The macaques () constitute a genus (''Macaca'') of gregarious Old World monkeys of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. The 23 species of macaques inhabit ranges throughout Asia, North Africa, and (in one instance) Gibraltar. Macaques are principally ...
species.


Behavior


Group structure

Japanese macaques live in
matrilineal Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's Lineage (anthropology), lineage – and which can in ...
societies, and females stay in their natal groups for life, while males move out before they are sexually mature. Macaque groups tend to contain several adults of both genders. In addition, a Japanese macaque troop contains several matrilines. These matrilines may exist in a dominance hierarchy with all members of a specific group ranking over members of a lower-ranking group. Temporary all-male groups also exist, composed of those who have recently left their natal groups and are about to transfer to another group. However, many males spend ample time away from any group, and may leave and join several groups. Females of the troop exist in a stable dominance hierarchy and a female's rank depends on that of her mother. Younger females tend to rank higher than their older siblings. Higher-ranking matrilines have greater social cohesion. Strong relationships with dominant females can allow dominant males to retain their rank when they otherwise would not. Males within a group normally have a dominance hierarchy, with one male having alpha status. The dominance status of male macaques usually changes when a former alpha male leaves or dies.Sprague DS, Suzuki S, Tsukahara T. (1996) "Variation in social mechanisms by which males attained the alpha rank among Japanese macaques". In: Fa JE, Lindburg DG, editors. ''Evolution and ecology of macaque societies''. Cambridge (UK): Cambridge U Pr. p 444–58. Other ways in which status of male hierarchy changes, is when an alpha male loses his rank or when a troop splits, leaving a new alpha male position open. The longer a male is in a troop, the higher his status is likely to be. Females typically maintain both social relationships and hygiene through grooming. Grooming occurs regardless of climate or season. Females who are matrilineally related groom each other more often than unrelated individuals. Females will groom unrelated females to maintain group cohesion and social relationships between different kinships in a troop. Nevertheless, a female will only groom a limited number of other females, even if the group expands. Females will groom males, usually for hygienic purposes, but that behavior also may serve to attract dominant males to the group. Mothers pass their grooming techniques to their offspring, most probably through social rather than genetic means, as a cultural characteristic.


Documented female troop leadership

Yakei is a female who rose to leadership of her troop at Takasakiyama Natural Zoological Garden in 2021. Her troop consists of 677 Japanese macaque monkeys who live in a sanctuary that was established in 1952 at the zoological garden. At age nine, she overthrew the dominant males in her troop and displaced her high-ranking mother as well. She became the first female leader of the troop during its recorded history of seventy years. Yakei has retained her leadership position through her first breeding season that had been thought to be a time when she might have been challenged successfully. Both scientific and popular interest is leading to extensive coverage of Yakei's behavior.


Mating and parenting

A male and female macaque form a
pair bond In biology, a pair bond is the strong affinity that develops in some species between a mating pair, often leading to the production and rearing of offspring and potentially a lifelong bond. Pair-bonding is a term coined in the 1940s that is freque ...
and mate, feed, rest, and travel together during the mating season, and on average, this relationship typically lasts 16 days. Females enter into consortships with an average of four males a season. Higher-ranking males have longer consortships than their subordinates. In addition, higher-ranking males try to disrupt consortships of lower-ranking males. Females may choose to mate with males of any rank. However, dominant males mate more frequently than others, as they are more successful in mate guarding. The female decides whether mating takes place. In addition, a dominant position does not mean a male will successfully mate with a female. Males may join other troops temporarily during the mating season and mate with those females. During the mating season, the face and genitalia of males redden and their tails stand erect,Wolfe L. (1979) "Sexual maturation among members of a transported troop of Japanese macaques". ''Primates'' 20(3):411–8. and the faces and anogenital regions of females turn scarlet. Macaques copulate both on the ground and in the trees. Roughly one in three copulations leads to
ejaculation Ejaculation is the discharge of semen (the ''ejaculate''; normally containing sperm) from the male reproductory tract as a result of an orgasm. It is the final stage and natural objective of male sexual stimulation, and an essential componen ...
. Macaques signal when they are ready to mate by looking backward over a shoulder, staying still, or walking backward toward their potential partner. A female emits a "squawk", a "squeak", or produces an atonal "cackle" during copulation. Males have no copulatory vocalizations. Females engage in same-sex mounting unrelated to the mating season and therefore, are mounted more often by other females than by males. This behavior has led to proposals in literature that female Japanese macaques are generally bisexual, rather than preferentially homo- or heterosexual. A macaque mother moves to the periphery of her troop to give birth in a secluded spot, unless the group is moving, when the female must stay with it. Macaques usually give birth on the ground. Infants are born with dark-brown hair.Hiraiwa M (1981) "Maternal and alloparental care in a troop of free-ranging Japanese monkeys". ''Primates'' 22(3):309-29. A mother and her infant tend to avoid other troop members. The infants consume their first solid food at five to six weeks old, and by seven weeks, can forage independently from their mothers. A mother carries her infant on her belly for its first four weeks. After this time, the mother carries her infant on her back, as well. Infants continue to be carried past a year. The mother may socialize again very slowly. However,
alloparenting Alloparenting (also referred to as alloparental care) is a term used to classify any form of parental care provided by an individual towards young that aren't its own direct offspring. These are often referred to as "non-descendant" young, even th ...
has been observed, usually by females who have not had infants of their own. Male care of infants occurs in some groups, but not in others; when they do, usually, older males protect, groom, and carry an infant as a female would. Infants have fully developed their locomotive abilities within three to four months. When an infant is seven months old, its mother discourages suckling; full weaning happens by its eighteenth month. In some populations, male infants tend to play in larger groups more often than females.Glick BB, Eaton GG, Johnson DF, Worlein J. (1986) "Social behavior of infant and mother Japanese macaques (''Macaca fuscata''): effects of kinship, partner sex, and infant sex". ''Intl J Primatol'' 7(2):139–55. However, female infants have more social interaction than their male counterparts, and female infants will associate with individuals of all ages and genders. When males are two years old, they prefer to associate with other males around the same age.


Communication

During feeding or moving, Japanese macaques often emit sounds that are called "coos". These vocalizations most likely serve to keep the troop together and strengthen social relations among females. Macaques usually respond to coos with coos of their own. Coos also are uttered before grooming along with vocalizations identified as " girney" calls. Variants of the "girney" calls are made in different contexts. This call also serves as appeasement between individuals in aggressive encounters. Macaques have alarm calls for alerting to danger and other calls to signal estrus that sound similar to danger alerts. Threat calls are heard during aggressive encounters and are often uttered by supporters of those involved in antagonistic interactions. The individual being supported supports those callers in the future.


Intelligence and culture

The Japanese macaque is an intelligent species. Researchers studying this species at Koshima Island in Japan left
sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the Convolvulus, bindweed or morning glory family (biology), family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a r ...
es out on the beach for them to eat, then witnessed one female, named Imo (Japanese for yam or potato), washing the food off with river water rather than brushing it off as the others were doing, and later even dipping her clean food into salty seawater.Animal Diversity Web
§ "Other Comments", ¶ 1, sent. 5, downloaded 2009-02-15T16:00+09:00

¶ 12, sent. 1, downloaded 2009-02-15T16:00+09:00
Karger.com
"Carrying and Washing of Grass Roots by Free-Ranging Japanese Macaques at Katsuyama" by Nakamichi, Masayuki; Kato, Eiko; Kojima, Yasuo; and Itoigawa, Naosuke in ''Folia Primatologica: International Journal of Primatology''; Vol. 69, No. 1, 1998, § "Abstract", ¶ 1, sent. 1, downloaded 2009-02-15T16:00+09:00
After a while, other members of her troop started to copy her behavior. This trait was then passed on from generation to generation, until eventually all except the oldest members of the troop were washing their food and even seasoning it in the sea. Similarly, she was the first observed balling up wheat with air pockets and soil, throwing it all into the water, and waiting for the wheat to float back up free from the soil to consume it. An altered misaccount of this incident is the basis for the " hundredth monkey" effect. That behavior also spread among her troop members. The macaque has other unusual behaviours, including bathing together in hot springs and rolling snowballs for fun. Also, in recent studies, the Japanese macaque has been found to develop different accents, similar to human cultures.National Geographic
"Monkeys Have Accent, Japanese Study Finds"
Macaques in areas separated by only a few hundred miles may have very different pitches in their calls, their form of communication. The Japanese macaque has been involved in many studies concerning neuroscience and also is used in drug testing.


Ecology

The Japanese macaque is diurnal. In colder areas, from autumn to early winter, macaques feed in between different activities. In the winter, macaques have two to four feeding bouts each day, with fewer daily activities. In the spring and summer, they have two or three bouts of feeding daily.Yotsumoto N. (1976) "The daily activity rhythm in a troop of wild Japanese monkey". ''Primates'' 17(2):183-204. In warmer areas such as
Yakushima , native_name_link = , image_caption = Landsat image of Yakushima , image_size = , nickname = , location = East China Sea , coordinates = , map = Japan#Japan Kagoshima Prefecture , map_relief ...
, daily activities are more varied. The typical day for a macaque is 20.9% inactive, 22.8% traveling, 23.5% feeding, 27.9% social grooming, 1.2% self-grooming, and 3.7% other activities. Macaques usually sleep in trees, but they also sleep on the ground, as well as on or near rocks and fallen trees. During the winter, macaques huddle together for warmth on sleeping grounds. Macaques at Jigokudani Monkey Park are notable for visiting the hot springs in the winter to warm up.


Diet

The Japanese macaque is
omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nutri ...
and eats a variety of foods. More than 213 species of plants are included in the macaque's diet. They also eat insects, bark, and soil. On
Yakushima Island , native_name_link = , image_caption = Landsat image of Yakushima , image_size = , nickname = , location = East China Sea , coordinates = , map = Japan#Japan Kagoshima Prefecture , map_relief ...
, fruit, mature leaves, and fallen seeds are primarily eaten. The macaque also eats fungi, ferns, invertebrates, and other parts of plants. In addition, in Yakushima, their diets vary seasonally with fruits being eaten in the summer and herbs being eaten in the winter. Farther north, macaques mostly eat seasonal foods such as fruit and nuts to store fat for the winter, when food is scarce. On the northern island of
Kinkasan , native_name_link = , image_caption = View from Oshika Peninsula , image_size = , locator_map = , map_custom = , nickname = , location = Pacific Ocean , coordinates = , archipelago = Oshik ...
, macaques mostly eat fallen seeds, herbs, young leaves, and fruits. When preferred food items are not available, macaques dig up underground plant parts (roots or rhizomes) or eat soil and fish.


Distribution and habitat

The Japanese macaque is the northernmost-living non-human primate. It is found on three of the four main Japanese islands:
Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...
,
Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...
, and
Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...
. The northernmost populations live on the Shimokita Peninsula, the northernmost point of Honshu.Uehara S. (1975) "The importance of the temperate forest elements among woody food plants utilized by Japanese monkeys and its possible historical meaning for the establishment of the monkeys & apes; range: a preliminary report". In: Kondo S, Kawai M, Ehara A, editors. ''Contemporary primatology, proceedings of the 5th International Congress of Primatology''. Basel(CH):S. Karger. p392-400. Several of Japan's smaller islands are inhabited by macaques as well. The southernmost population living on
Yakushima Island , native_name_link = , image_caption = Landsat image of Yakushima , image_size = , nickname = , location = East China Sea , coordinates = , map = Japan#Japan Kagoshima Prefecture , map_relief ...
is a subspecies of the mainland macaques, ''M. fuscata yakui''. A study in 1989 estimated the total population of wild Japanese macaques to be 114,431 individuals. The Japanese macaque lives in a variety of habitats. It inhabits subtropical forests in the southern part of its range and subarctic forests in mountainous areas in the northern part of its range. It can be found in both warm and cool forests, such as the deciduous forests of central and northern Japan and the broadleaf evergreen forests in the southwest of the islands. Warm temperate evergreen and broadleaf forests and cool temperate deciduous broadleaf forests are the most important habitats for macaques. In 1972, a troop of approximately 150 Japanese macaques was relocated from Kyoto to a primate observatory in southwest
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The observatory is an enclosed ranch-style environment and the macaques have been allowed to roam with minimal human interference. At first, many perished in the unfamiliar habitat, which consists of arid brushland. The macaques eventually adapted to the environment, learned to avoid predators (such as eagles,
coyotes The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...
, and
rattlesnakes Rattlesnakes are venomous snakes that form the genera '' Crotalus'' and '' Sistrurus'' of the subfamily Crotalinae (the pit vipers). All rattlesnakes are vipers. Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting small an ...
), and they learned to forage for mesquite beans, cactus fruits, and other foods. The surviving macaques flourished, and by 1995, the troop consisted of 500 to 600 individuals. In 1996, hunters maimed or killed four escaped macaques; as a result, legal restrictions were publicly clarified and funds were raised to establish a new sanctuary near
Dilley, Texas Dilley is a city in Frio County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,894 at the 2010 census. It is located off Interstate 35 south of the county seat in Pearsall. Geography Dilley is located in southern Frio County at (28.670824, –9 ...
. In 1999, the
Animal Protection Institute The Animal Protection Institute (API) was a national, nonprofit animal advocacy organization based in Sacramento, California that in 2007, as part of its affiliation with the Born Free Foundation, was renamed Born Free USA. Founded in 1968, API's ...
took over management of the sanctuary and began to rescue other species of primates. As of 2017, the troop cohabitated with six other species of macaque.


Relationship with humans

Traditional human behaviors that are threats to macaques have been
slash-and-burn agriculture Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed veget ...
, use of forest woods for construction and fuel, and hunting. Since World War II, these threats have declined due to social and economic changes in Japan,Sprague DS. (2002) "Monkeys in the backyard: encroaching wildlife and rural communities in Japan". In: Fuentes A, Wolfe LD, editors. ''Primates face face: conservation implications of human-nonhuman primate interconnections''. Cambridge (UK): Cambridge U Pr. p254-72. but other threats have emerged. The replacement of natural forests with lumber plantations is the most serious threat. As human prosperity has grown, macaques have lost their fear of humans and have increased their presence in both rural and urban areas, with one macaque recorded living in central Tokyo for several months.Fukuda F. (2004) "Dispersal and environmental disturbance in Japanese macaques (''Macaca fuscata'') ". ''Prim Rep'' 68:53-69. In 2022 the city of Yamaguchi experienced aggression from the monkeys with at least 50 people attacked.


Cultural depictions

The Japanese macaque (snow monkey) has featured prominently in the religion, folklore, and art of Japan, as well as in proverbs and idiomatic expressions in the Japanese language. In
Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...
belief, mythical beasts known as ''
raijū Raijū ( 雷獣, "thunder animal" or "thunder beast") is a legendary creature from Japanese mythology. Mythology Its body is composed of lightning and with the form of a white and blue wolf or dog (or even a wolf or dog wrapped in lightning) b ...
'' sometimes appeared as monkeys and kept
Raijin , also known as , , , and Kamowakeikazuchi-no-kami is a god of lightning, thunder and storms in Japanese mythology and the Shinto religion. He is typically depicted with fierce and aggressive facial expressions, standing atop a cloud, beatin ...
, the god of lightning, company. The "
three wise monkeys The three wise monkeys are a Japanese pictorial maxim, embodying the proverbial principle "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil". The three monkeys are * Mizaru, who sees no evil, covering his eyes * Kikazaru, who hears no evil, covering ...
", who warn people to "see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil", are carved in relief over the door of the famous
Tōshō-gū is any Shinto shrine in which Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543–1616) is enshrined. Ieyasu was the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1868), which is the third and last of the shogunal governments in Japanese history. He was deified with the name , ...
shrine in
Nikkō is a city located in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 80,239 in 36,531 households, and a population density of 55 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . It is a popular destination for Japanese and ...
. The Japanese macaque is a feature of several fairy tales, such as the tale of ''
Momotarō is a Folk hero, popular hero of Japanese folklore. His name is often translated as ''Peach Boy'', but is directly translated as ''Peach + Tarō (given name), Tarō'', a common Japanese given name. ''Momotarō'' is also the title of various books, ...
'' and the fable about ''
The Crab and the Monkey The Crab and the Monkey, also known as or The Quarrel of the Monkey and the Crab, is a Japanese folktale. In the story, a sly monkey kills a crab, and is later killed in revenge by the crab's offspring. Retributive justice is the main theme of ...
''. The
monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...
is part of the
Chinese zodiac The Chinese zodiac is a traditional classification scheme based on the lunar calendar that assigns an animal and its reputed attributes to each year in a repeating twelve-year cycle. Originating from China, the zodiac and its variations remain ...
. That zodiac has been used for centuries in Japan and led to many representations of the macaque for that figure. The creature was sometimes portrayed in paintings of the rich cultural epoch, the
Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
that flourished from 1603 to 1867, as a tangible metaphor for a particular year. The early nineteenth-century artist and
samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
,
Watanabe Kazan was a Japanese painter, scholar and statesman member of the samurai class. Biography He was born Watanabe Sadayasu in Edo (now Tokyo) to a poor samurai family, and his artistic talent was developed from an early age. His family served the ...
(1793-1841), created a painting of a macaque. The last great master of the
ukiyo-e Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surfac ...
genre of woodblock printing and painting, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, also featured the macaques in his prints. Also during the Edo period, numerous clasps for ''
kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn left side wrapped over right, unless the wearer is deceased. The kimono ...
'' or
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
pouches (collectively called ''
netsuke A is a miniature sculpture, originating in 17th century Japan. Initially a simply-carved button fastener on the cords of an box, later developed into ornately sculpted objects of craftsmanship. History Traditionally, Japanese clothing – ...
'') were carved in the shape of macaques. Spoken references to macaques abound in the history of Japan. Originating from before his rise to power, the famed samurai,
Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...
, was compared to a monkey in appearance and nicknamed ''Kozaru'' ("Little Monkey"). In modern Japanese culture, because monkeys are considered to indulge their
libido Libido (; colloquial: sex drive) is a person's overall sexual drive or desire for sexual activity. Libido is influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors. Biologically, the sex hormones and associated neurotransmitters that act up ...
openly and frequently (much the same way as
rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...
s are thought to in some Western cultures), a man who is preoccupied with sex might be compared to or metaphorically referred to as a monkey, as might a romantically involved couple who are exceptionally amorous.


References


Further reading

*


External links


Snow Monkey Resorts official siteJigokudani Yaen-Koen info pageAcaPixus images of Japanese macaquePrimate info net ''Macaca fuscata'' factsheetHuman factors and activities around Jigokudani-Shigakogen Forest Park
{{Authority control Articles containing video clips Primates of East Asia Endemic mammals of Japan
Japanese macaque The Japanese macaque (''Macaca fuscata''), also known as the snow monkey, is a terrestrial Old World monkey species that is native to Japan. Colloquially, they are referred to as "snow monkeys" because some live in areas where snow covers the gr ...
Japanese macaque The Japanese macaque (''Macaca fuscata''), also known as the snow monkey, is a terrestrial Old World monkey species that is native to Japan. Colloquially, they are referred to as "snow monkeys" because some live in areas where snow covers the gr ...
Japanese macaque The Japanese macaque (''Macaca fuscata''), also known as the snow monkey, is a terrestrial Old World monkey species that is native to Japan. Colloquially, they are referred to as "snow monkeys" because some live in areas where snow covers the gr ...
Tool-using mammals