Japanese Macaque Macaca fuscata

Japanese Macaque
Japanese Macaque
Japanese Macaque
Native to Japan, Japanese Macaques are the most northerly non-human primates and the only ones regularly found in snow and ice. The iconic picture is of these intelligent monkeys sitting in hot thermal pools with frost and ice on their fur. They have a well-developed, hierarchical social structure and the elite sit in the hot springs while the lower orders freeze.
Japanese Macaque
Japanese Macaque
Japanese Macaque
They usually walk on all fours, have only a stump of tail and are mainly terrestrial, especially the larger, heavier males; the lighter females will spend time in trees.
Japanese Macaques grooming
juvenile Japanese Macaques grooming
Japanese Macaque juvenile
Their pink faces and bottoms grow more red when ready to mate. Grooming is a key social activity reinforcing group bonds and social status.
Japanese Macaques babies
Japanese Macaque baby
Japanese Macaque baby
The babies have much darker fur.