Japanese Macaque

In Japan, the species is known as Nihonzaru (ニホンザル, a combination of Nihon (日本) "Japan" + saru (猿) "monkey", "macaque") to distinguish it from other primates.

Japanese macaques have short tails, thick brownish-gray fur, pinkish-red faces, and deeper magenta hands and feet. Their nails are whitish gray, and they have yellowish-hazel colored eyes. The Japanese macaque weighs approximately 10–14 kg for males and 5–11 kg for females. Their tail is short (7–12 cm), and their body length is 47–60 cm.

Playing with snowballs and sharing hot spring baths are two of the macaque's other odd habits. Additionally, recent studies have shown that Japanese macaques are capable of developing distinct accents from both humans and other macaques. Macaques use sounds to communicate, and even within a few hundred miles, their pitches can vary greatly.

Because they are highly clever and follow customs like cleaning sweet potatoes, washing wheat grains in saltwater, and using any tool in captivity, Japanese macaques possess cognitive and behavioral abilities. Macaques have excellent memories and sophisticated social learning.

Japanese macaques are great swimmers; they can dive underwater and swim for more than 30 minutes. Particularly in Nagano's Jigokudani region, hot spring bathing (also known as onsen) is a culturally transmitted practice that was initiated by a single female.

The Japanese macaque is diurnal. In colder areas, from autumn to early winter, macaques feed in between different activities. In the winter, macaques have two to four feeding bouts each day, with fewer daily activities. In the spring and summer, they have two or three bouts of feeding daily.

The Japanese macaque is omnivorous and eats a variety of foods. More than 213 species of plants are included in the macaque's diet. They also eat insects, bark, and soil, as well as flowers and some nectar. On the northern island of Kinkasan, macaques mostly eat fallen seeds, herbs, young leaves, and fruits, especially of the Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) and Japanese zelkova (Zelkova serrata). When preferred food items are not available, macaques dig up underground plant parts (roots or rhizomes) or eat soil and fish.

The primary predators of Japanese macaques are now largely raptors and snakes for young, and feral dogs and bears for both. Previously, these predators included wolves, tigers, and leopards.

The macaques eventually adapted to the environment, learned to avoid predators (such as eagles, coyotes, and rattlesnakes), and they learned to forage for mesquite beans, cactus fruits, and other foods. The surviving macaques flourished, and by 1995, the troop consisted of 500 to 600 individuals. In 1996, hunters maimed or killed four escaped macaques; as a result, legal restrictions were publicly clarified and funds were raised to establish a new 186-acre (75 ha) sanctuary near Dilley, Texas.

Reproduction

During the mating season, the face and genitalia of males redden and their tails stand erect, and the faces and anogenital regions of females turn scarlet. Macaques copulate both on the ground and in the trees. Roughly one in three copulations leads to ejaculation. Macaques signal when they are ready to mate by looking backward over a shoulder, staying still, or walking backward toward their potential partner. A female emits a "squawk", a "squeak", or produces an atonal "cackle" during copulation. Males have no copulatory vocalizations.

Females engage in same-sex mounting unrelated to the mating season and therefore, are mounted more often by other females than by males. This behavior has led to proposals in literature that female Japanese macaques are generally bisexual, rather than preferentially homo- or heterosexual.

• Mating season: Autumn to early winter

• Gestation: ~173 days

• Young: Single infant

• Female maturity: 3–4 years

• Male maturity: 4–5 years

• Social structure: multi-male/multi-female troops with matrilineal hierarchies

Japanese macaques have strong hierarchies of dominance, particularly among females, and their troops can number between 20 and 100. The key to fostering relationships and lowering stress is grooming. Japanese macaques have communication include body posture, vocal calls, and facial expressions. Tool use is prevalent in captive populations but rare in the wild.

Although they may seem inquisitive or tolerant, Japanese macaques are not naturally amiable. When given food, wild macaques might bite, steal, and become hostile. In rural Japan, these macaques can raid crops. To lessen conflict, some communities employ guards or noise devices. The government introduced onsen or hot-spring macaques for tourism, which draws tourists and presents management issues.

Threats

• Habitat loss and fragmentation.

• Human-wildlife conflict (crop damage leading to culling).

• Climate change affecting food availability.

• Hybridization concerns with introduced macaques (rare but monitored).

Conservation Status

• IUCN Red List: Least Concern (LC)

• Locally protected but considered a conservation priority because:

  • small population (~5,000–7,000)

  • restricted range (one island)

Conservation Efforts

• Protected under Japanese law.

• Some regions designated as natural monuments.

• Rewilding and relocation programs.

• Habitat protection.

• Anti-poaching enforcement.

• Rescue and rehabilitation centers.

• Awareness campaigns against illegal pet trade.

This species is present in Japan on Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and the islands of Awaji, Shodo, Yaku, Kinkazan (Miyagi Prefecture), Kojima (Miyazaki Prefecture) and others. It was previously found on Tane Island, where it is now extinct.

In 1972, a troop of approximately 150 Japanese macaques was relocated from Kyoto to a primate observatory in southwest Texas, United States. The observatory is an enclosed ranch-style environment and the macaques have been allowed to roam with minimal human interference. At first, many perished in the unfamiliar habitat, which consists of arid brushland. In 1999, the Animal Protection Institute took over management of the sanctuary and began to rescue other species of primates. As of 2017, the troop cohabitated with six other species of macaque.

• Movement Pattern: Random

• Individual Type: Nomadic/Troop

• Population Trend: Stable

• Population: 2,000-3,850

• Locomotion: Terrestrial

• Habitat: Polar; Tundra; Taiga; Montane Grasslands and Shrublands; Temperate Coniferous Forests; Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests; Temperate Deciduous Forests, Temperate Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Subtropical Coniferous Forests; Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Stone Forest; Tropical Coniferous Forests; Tropical Moist Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Dry Broadleaf Forests; Tropical Grasslands; Tropical Savannas and Shrublands; Mediterranean Forests, Woodlands, and Scrub; Flooded Grasslands and Savannas; Swamp; Bayous/Billabongs; Riparian; Wetland; Mangrove Forest; Cold Bamboo Forests; Tropical Bamboo Forests; Air-breathing Coral Reefs; Mountain; Warm River; Cold River; Lukewarm River; Subterranean River; Pond; Ghost Town.

• Earth: 

  • Extant (Resident): Japan (mainland, except Hokkaido)

  • Extant & Introduced: United States (Texas) 

At first, these guys are passive and tame and can be given any type of berry. (Any sweet berries are recommended.) Do not run up to its face.

In our universe, Japanese macaques are not advised and are frequently prohibited. The main risks associated with macaques are their strong teeth, which are thought to be deadly; zoonotic infections; destructive activity and the necessity for huge group interactions; psychological injury to the animal; ethical issues and poor well-being in captivity; and the fact that many nations prohibit owning macaques because of the danger. Japanese macaques are untamed, gregarious monkeys that are not suitable for private ownership or as messengers to the "God" or the spirits of the deceased.

2600s

Because of the harm done to assaulting Maoris, Hawaiians, Koreans, and other people in Japanese-settled Oceania countries, 600 Yakushima macaques were captured and wiped out annually, whereas Japanese and Yakushima macaques survived mass extinction in The Recollections of Queen Arianna events.

• Coming soon

• Coming soon

• Belarusian: Японскі макак

• Deutsch: Japan-Makak

• English: Japanese Macaque

• Español: Macaco de Japón

• Français: Macaque japonais, Magot à face rouge

• Galego: Macaco xaponés

• Italiano: Macaco giapponese

• Nihongo: ニホンザル (Nihonzaru)

• Maori: Makimaki Nipono

• Polski: Makak japoński

• Português: Macaco-japonês

• Thai: ลิงกังญี่ปุ่น

• Türkçe: Japon şebeği

• Ukrainian: Японський макака

• Zhongguo: 日本獼猴

• The first-ever drawing a primate in this century.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_macaque

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkeys_in_Japanese_culture

• https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Macaca_fuscata

• https://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Macaca_fuscata_fuscata

• https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q191781

• https://bench.boldsystems.org/index.php/TaxBrowser_TaxonPage?taxid=12468

• https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/12552/195347803

• https://xeno-canto.org/species/Macaca-fuscata

• https://www.deviantart.com/ognimdo2002/art/Yakushima-Macaque-980511070