A family of Japanese macaques huddle in a small group to keep warm. The first time I saw pictures of macaques, also known as snow monkeys, was in the late 80’s. It was then I made the commitment to eventually see them for myself.
The Japanese macaque is the northernmost non-human primate and is considered extremely intelligent. Researchers found that one particularly clever female learned how to wash sweet potatoes in river water before eating them. She eventually began dipping the potatoes in sea water for seasoning. Ultimately she passed this behavior on to the rest of the troop.