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By Victor Mendoza-Garcia
The Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata) ,also known as the snow monkey, is a monkey species native to northern Japan, and is the most northern-living non-human primate, surviving winter temperatures below 5°F (-15 °C). Due to the snowy area they live in, they have received the name "snow monkey" What is quite remarkable about the snow monkey is that it is the most northern-living nonhuman primate, and no other nonhuman primate lives in a colder climate. They have brown-gray fur, a red face, and a short tail.
In the wild they spend most of their time in forests and feed on seeds, buds, fruit, invertebrates, berries, leaves, and bark.
On the fourth day of our trip we will be visiting Jigokudani Monkey Park (地獄谷). The park is called Jigokudani ("Hell's Valley") due to the steep cliffs and hot water steaming out from the earth's surface. It's a fairly harsh environment during the winter with snow on the ground for a third of the year; however, it's a paradise for the couple of hundred snow monkeys that live there.
The Jigokudani Yaenkoen park opened in 1964 and since then thousands of people from around the world have visited the park to observe the lifestyle of the Japanese Macaque.
At the park, one can watch the monkeys play, take a leisurely onsen, and simply enjoy their lifestyle.
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