Scientific name: Macaca fuscata
Conservation status:
Life expectancy: males, 28 years and females, 32 years
Gestation period: 171 days
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Lifestyle and Location:
- They live only in Japan and are omnivorous, they will eat 213 different species of plant and other main foods are insects and soil.
- The macaque’s coat is very well adapted to the cold by being very thick and the thickness gets thicker during colder months where the temperature of their habitat can go as low as -20 degrees Celsius.
- They are also named ‘snow monkey’ due to them living in the snow.
- There are 2 subspecies and they are found in 4 separate regions of Japan
Appearance:
The Japanese macaque is sexually dimorphic (males and females are different). Males weigh 11.3 kg, while females weigh 8.4 kg. The average height of a male is 57 cm and the females are about 52 cm. The macaque has a face that is pinkish and has a coat of brown or greyish hair.
Joss‘s Facts
- They are the most northernly living primate (other than humans).
- They have a ruthless hierarchy system where if you are born into the right family, you get to bathe in the spars heated by the volcanoes which are 60 degrees Celsius warmer than the outside climate, this can be the difference between life or death.
- They are known to ride dear for transport, in return the dear are groomed by the macaque.