Japanese Macaque
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The Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata), also called the Snow Monkey, is the native Japanese Macaque species, and the northern most living primate in the world.
Their claim to fame as a species often begins and ends with water. Because they are adapted to living in cold and snowy environments, they are well known for bathing in hot springs during cold weather. They are equally inclined to take a dip in the water on a hot summer day. Finally, in a raccoon like manner, they wash their food in water prior to eating it.
Less well known is the substantial amount of behavioral research published on both free ranging and captive species.
The bulk of the research starts with the premise of Japanese Macaques living in multimale and multifemale troops based on female philopatry, with males dispersing to neighboring troops at regular intervals throughout their lives.
There's no shortage of accounts of random individuals taking the occasional quick trip to the city, where they inevitably attract media attention.
From this starting point, the research focuses on a variety of inter-gender and intra-gender behavioral issues ranging from Japanese Macaque sexual activity to patterns of aggression and reconciliation, to food gathering.
Ultimately, the research reveals that the Japanese Macaque lives in a complex, and somewhat cosmopolitan society, not necessarily bound by a static set of behavior rules.
For example, research shows episodes of both female and male dispersal from troops. Furthermore, while dominant males often are assumed to be responsible for troop birth rates, in fact a substantial degree of any troop's annual births can often be attributed to wandering males along with high ranking troop males.
Additionally, research shows that Japanese Macaques not only have an eclectic appetite, consuming food from tourists as well as native fruits and plants, but also they know enough to eat dirt, potentially as a medicinal tool to deal with digestive issues.
- Analysing the effects of group size and food competition on Japanese macaque social relationships
- Postconflict Behavior Among Male Japanese Macaques
- The Adaptive Significance of Geophagy in Japanese Macaque
- Grooming among female Japanese macaques: distinguishing between reciprocation and interchange
© 2010 Patricia A. Michaels.