This is the free fact you have all been waiting for and I don’t think you will be disappointed. Let’s face it, learning about a monkey is the best possible way we could end the week. As you might guess, the Japanese Macaque is typically found in a variety of habitats throughout Japan. This particular monkey is also referred to as the Snow Monkey, since they tend to live in the colder regions of the Country where they will have to contend with quite a bit of snowfall. For some reason, I never picture monkey’s playing around in the snow but I bet they love making snow forts and having snowball fights.
Again, you may have been able to guess that the Japanese Macaque is the most northern species of monkey in the world. As a result the Snow Monkey has had to adapt to a much colder climate compared to those rain-forest monkey’s. For starters, this particular monkey is stocky with a nice, thick fur coat, which is perfect for handling those cold winter nights. This coat will typically grow much thicker during the winter months to help protect the monkey a little more. Another interesting feature of the Snow Monkey is their pouches on the inside of their cheeks. I don’t know if these pouches help with the cold climate but they certainly allow the Macaque to store food in their cheeks while they are foraging. It is basically like a squirrel but cooler.
Like other monkey’s the Japanese Macaque often lives in troops ranging in size from 20 to 30 individuals. As usual they will have an Alpha male which leads the group by deciding where they are going to go, protecting the troop from predators (and other Macaque troops). Oh and they are also the ones responsible for mating. As you can see there is a lot of responsibility lying on the shoulders of these fearless Alpha leaders. Typically the social ranking for the rest of the troop is based on age and in some cases the social ranking of the young monkey’s mother – I guess it pays to have a cool mom if you are a Japanese Macaque.
Japanese Macaque Fast Fact – Females are very picky when it comes time to select a mate. The reason for this is the fact that they will not choose a male that they have mated with in the last few years. No, they are not just exploring their options. This is actually an intelligent strategy to prevent interbreeding within the troop. Clever little monkey’s aren’t they?
Well that does it for another week of Wild Facts. I hope you enjoyed this free Friday Fact since you won’t be getting another one until Monday. Have a great weekend!
