# Japanese Macaque (*Macaca fuscata*)

> The Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata), or snow monkey, is the world's northernmost wild monkey, famous for bathing in volcanic hot springs in winter. It weighs 8–11 kg (18–24 lb), lives in strict matrilineal troops that can exceed 100 members, and can survive 25–30 years.

- **Category:** Mammal
- **Conservation status (IUCN):** Least Concern
- **Range:** Forests of Japan's main islands — Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu — from snowy mountains to subtropical Yakushima.
- **Canonical page:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/japanese-macaque/
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-07-16

## Scientific classification

- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Mammalia
- **Order:** Primates
- **Family:** Cercopithecidae
- **Genus:** Macaca

## Facts at a glance

| Attribute | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Scientific name | Macaca fuscata |
| Diet | Omnivore — fruit, seeds, leaves, bark, insects, and small vertebrates |
| Habitat | Subtropical to subalpine forest on Japan's main islands, enduring snowy winters |
| Lifespan | 25–30 years in the wild |
| Weight | 8–11 kg (18–24 lb); males heavier than females |
| Top speed | Agile quadruped on the ground and in trees, and a strong swimmer |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |

## The original snow monkey

No non-human primate lives further north: Japanese macaques range to the Shimokita Peninsula at 41°N, where winter temperatures drop below −20 °C. Adults have a bare red face, thick brown-grey winter fur, and a short stump of a tail. Males average about 11 kg, females about 8 kg.

## Hot-spring culture

At Jigokudani Monkey Park in Nagano, macaques have soaked in natural hot springs since the 1960s — a learned behaviour passed down through generations that has become an icon of Japanese wildlife. Bathing is most popular in freezing weather and appears to reduce stress as well as conserve heat.

## Famous inventors

On the island of Koshima in 1953, researchers watched a young female named Imo begin washing sweet potatoes in the sea — a novel behaviour that spread through her troop and is a classic textbook example of animal culture. The same troop went on to invent wheat-sluicing and other food-handling traditions.

## Social structure

Troops of 20 to 100 or more are organised around strict female lines: daughters inherit their mother's rank, while males leave at maturity and transfer between troops. Grooming cements alliances, and infants are doted on by the whole group. Macaques communicate with dozens of distinct calls, facial expressions, and body postures.

## Diet and habitat

Japanese macaques eat a highly seasonal menu — fruit and seeds in autumn, buds and young leaves in spring, bark and winter buds when snow is deep. They live across Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, from subtropical Yakushima forest to snowy beech and conifer woodland, usually staying within a few kilometres of trees.

## Conservation

The species is listed as Least Concern and remains widespread, but recovery from historical hunting has brought it into conflict with farmers. Thousands are legally culled each year for raiding fruit orchards and vegetable fields, and hybridisation with introduced rhesus macaques is a local concern in parts of Japan.

## Frequently asked questions

### Why do snow monkeys bathe in hot springs?

To keep warm and relax during harsh winters. The habit began at Jigokudani in the 1960s when monkeys copied people using a spa pool, and it has been passed down culturally ever since.

### Where do Japanese macaques live?

Only in Japan — on the islands of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, plus smaller islands such as Yakushima. They are the northernmost wild monkeys on Earth.

### Do Japanese macaques really have culture?

Yes — the Koshima troop famously invented sweet-potato washing in 1953, and behaviours such as bathing, wheat-sluicing, and stone play spread socially, which biologists recognise as culture.

### How big is a snow monkey troop?

Typically 20 to 100 animals organised around related females, with a clear dominance hierarchy. Some provisioned troops exceed 150 members.

### Are Japanese macaques endangered?

No — they are listed as Least Concern. The main issues are conflict with agriculture and local hybridisation with introduced rhesus macaques.

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Source: Global Animal Guide (https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/japanese-macaque/). Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 — free for non-commercial reuse with attribution.