Wordy Wednesday: Visiting Japan’s Snow Monkeys

Meet the Japanese macaques, also known as snow monkeys, living in an enclosure on the side of Mt. Takao, about an hour from Tokyo.

A note on this series: Although I published some of these photos earlier, the majority have been recovered from an old drive that took a circuitous route of more than five years, three continents and four countries to get back to me. I plan to run them in themed segments on Wednesdays this summer, including Tokyo nightlife, shrines, cityscapes and more. This week’s photos are from the snow monkey exhibit at Mt. Takao.

Japanese macaques are the northernmost-dwelling of any non-human primate species.

They’re built for the cold, with heavier coats than their cousins, the rhesus, long-tailed and bonnet macaques. They also sleep in well-organized groups, rotating so each monkey gets time in the center to soak up body heat, and they’re famous for keeping warm in northern Japan’s hot springs.

But as these photos show, snow monkeys are also adaptable, and they make the best of things during the hot, humid summers at Mt. Takao, about 51 km (30 miles) from Tokyo.

These photos were taken on a hot day in June when I was one of only a handful of visitors.

Welcome to Mount Takao! So you want to see snow monkeys?
“The milk bar’s open!” Snow monkeys, aka Japanese macaques, are extremely attentive mothers. This baby is is about 8 to 10 weeks old and completely dependent on mom.
“I’ve had my fill of milk, now it’s time to explore!”
“But mom won’t let me go far! I’m too young to go off on my own, and mom is really protective of me.”
“If I could…just…get away…for a sec!”
“Come on, mom! Let me play!”
A keeper at the Mt. Takao monkey enclosure. She has a hat…but not for long. Note the mischievous monkey on her shoulders, who’s waiting for just the right moment to grab her hat and run.
The monkey on the left is like: “Oh crap, here it comes!”
The keeper is staring daggers directly at me. There was a small crowd at the Mt. Takao snow monkey exhibit that day, and while the Hat Incident delighted the onlookers, the keeper was not amused when she saw me snapping away. I’m pretty sure she wanted to throttle me. Sorry!
Yeah, she definitely hates me.
Getting her hat back was not an easy task. The devious little monkey who made off with it immediately retreated into a small cave/shelter system big enough for the macaques, but too small for humans to enter. Making matters worse, there were at least four or five entrances and exits. Every time the keeper approached, the little monkey darted inside and popped up through a different hole, like a game of wack a mole. Eventually it took both keepers to retrieve the hat.
“Oh, you know, just chillin’.”
I was super close to this little lady. She was probably about two or three years old.
Macaques live in troops of up to 300 members, and their societies are matrilinear, meaning an individual monkey’s “rank” in the troop’s social hierarchy is determined by who their mother is.

Macaque troops are headed by alphas who are the strongest males and deal directly with protecting troop members, but the matriarch runs most aspects of troop life.

Here, a snow monkey mom hugs her child. The bond between moms and their kids is strong. Daughters stay with their mothers and their troops for life, while sons remain in the troop until they’re about five years old, at which time they depart to avoid inbreeding. They often go on to live as bachelors in small groups before joining or starting their own troops.
This baby is geckering. A gecker is a “loud, pulsed vocalization” usually described as a “broken, staccato noise.” People often think of it as a baby macaque throwing a temper tantrum, but it’s more than that, and it’s involuntary, meaning the babies can’t control it. In plain English, it’s a noise, accompanied by spasms and made by babies and young macaques when they’re particularly upset. Babies usually gecker when they’re separated from their mothers, being bullied by older monkeys, or in situations when they want to nurse but their moms won’t let them.
Another mom with a young nursing baby. This baby is a bit older than the one above, probably about three months old.
The first baby again. Notice how mom is grooming the baby. Grooming is an important aspect of macaque social relations, in addition to serving the practical function of clearing insects and other debris from fur.
More social grooming. The monkey on the right is attentively picking insects from the fur of the monkey on the left.
He’s big, he’s old, he’s battle-scarred. He’s the alpha, and he always gets groomed first, whenever he wants. He also eats first, enjoys the best lounging spots, and gets to mate with his choice of females. In the wild, alphas don’t retain their thrones long, often being deposed within a year or two. Extraordinary alphas who keep their troops in good stead and enjoy an aura of invincibility can last a decade or longer.
Babies nurse for as many as two years and spend almost the entire first year of their lives holding onto their moms. That’s one reason why the practice of buying baby monkeys — or any monkeys — as pets is incredibly cruel, and it’s why pet monkeys are always seen clinging to stuffed animals. They’re taken from their mothers within hours or days, and they need the tactile comfort of holding onto — and being held by — their mothers.

Harry Harlowe’s infamous experiments in the 1960s proved that the physical comfort of being held is crucial to the psychological development of all primates, humans included. If a baby is denied that, the consequences manifest as severe psychological issues later in life.
A male member of the troop. It’s not clear if this guy was brought in from another captive troop elsewhere in the country, or if he’s native to the Mt. Takao troop. If it’s the latter, at his age — about four or five years old, give or take — he’ll be expected to soon depart. Young males leave their troops to avoid inbreeding and potential violence as they become stronger and are viewed as potential rivals to the alpha and/or his lieutenants.

Adios, humans!

7 thoughts on “Wordy Wednesday: Visiting Japan’s Snow Monkeys”

  1. I am loving this from you. Thanks so much and I can’t wait to see the series unfold! I wish I had seen so much of the world. I wish you were doing a book to be honest! I’d be the first to buy it, but I might ask for an autograph an a paw 🐾 print of you wouldn’t mind 😉

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    1. Got special photos of two places very, very few people ever get to go, one in Tokyo and the other in the Middle East. The hints: One involves Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the other can only be reached by camel! I have not posted photos from either of them here or anywhere else for that matter, so it should be fun.

      Sweet, innocent little Buddy just woke me up about 40 minutes ago by slapping me in the face. Sure, you can have his pawtograph lol!

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      1. I’m too excited now, and clueless, but still very excited to see what’s coming!!! Seriously, I would love a pawtograph, and your autograph. I don’t have much, so things like that matter a lot…🐾🐾👣🫶🏻 Get back to bed 😴 I think Buddy is outta whacks for tonight

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      2. No one has ever asked me for an autograph before, but as far as the little guy, I’ll see what I can do. He had an epic battle with the new vacuum yesterday. I thought he’d retreated to another room, but it turns out he was cowering under my desk as I was vacuuming the carpet…and then he came screeching his war cry, launched himself at the Evil Vacuum and started slapping the shit out of it. lol.

        Just rapid fire, slap slap slap, his little face contorted into a mask of rage and determination. I turned it off to spare him more stress, and I tried to speak to him in soothing tones, but I couldn’t stop laughing either.

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      3. I laughed so hard at the visual of the, slap, slap, slap! Big Bud, you are a much better man than me. I couldn’t have contained my laughter to be at all supportive at that moment. 😂 Oh my, I laugh every time I read it. Please don’t tell Buddy… I’ll never get my “Pawtograph” if he gets wind of my laughter.

        I do hope you publish something that you love, and our boys are here to see it…Autograph or not, I know there’s so much more you have to share and, just so you know, I’m here for it. Have a great weekend and do not let Buddy know I laughed till I cried 😭🤣

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  2. These are great; macaques are such appealing characters. And I love the photo of the keeper looking daggers at you…”bad gaijin” she’s probably thinking (although maybe much worse!)

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    1. They’re fascinating animals, especially once you observe them for a while and get a sense of the social situation, which monkeys are the matriarch and alpha, which ones are the unfortunate low-ranking monkeys and so on.

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