JAPANESE MACAQUE
Taxonomy
Russian name – Japanese macaque, Snow Monkey
Latin name-Macaca fuscata
English name-Japanese macaque, Snow monkey
Class-Mammals (Mammalia)
Squad-Primates (Primates)
Family-Marmosets (Cercopithecidae)
Genus-Macaca (Macaca)
There are two subspecies of the Japanese macaque-Macaca fuscata fuscata, the most common and characterized by a rounded shape of the eye sockets, and Macaca fuscata yakui, which lives only on the island.Yakushima and having oval-shaped eye sockets.
Status of the species in nature
The existence of these monkeys in nature is currently not threatened, but international trade in these animals is limited by the Convention-CITES II.
The total number of Japanese macaques is 114.5 thousand.
Species and person
Japanese macaques quite peacefully coexist next to a person. Perhaps this particular species of monkey is better studied than others. There are populations of individually identifiable animals that have been closely monitored for more than 50 years. It is to the Japanese macaques that people owe the most profound knowledge about the behavior and social organization of primate communities. This knowledge greatly helps ethologists and psychologists in building scientific hypotheses.
Japanese macaques with their unusual behavior actively attract tourists, who bring the country a considerable income.
The very name of these monkeys indicates the location of their range-the Japanese Islands, or rather, northern Japan. Macaques live in all types of forests – from subtropical to mountainous, and go to the sea coast, where they go into the sea, swim and even dive in search of algae. Winter in the habitats of Japanese macaques lasts 4 months, and the average air temperature at this time of year is -5° - not the most comfortable weather for monkeys. Japanese macaques are known for climbing into hot springs in the cold, which are numerous in Japan.
Folk legends tell us that the first monkey was in the spring by accident-collecting scattered food and fell into the water. Once in the warm "bath", she hesitated to get out on dry land, and the other macaques, noticing the pleased expression on the face of their fellow tribesman, followed her example. Since that time, periodic bathing has become widespread.
In 1972, one of the North American farmers brought a hundred and fifty Japanese macaques to his ranch. A few years later, the monkeys escaped safely through a leaky fence and formed a free-living population in Texas.
Appearance
The Japanese macaque is characterized by a strong build and powerful limbs. In weight, it is heavier than other species of macaques; males weigh an average of 11 kg with a height of 80-95 cm, females are lower, and the weight is on average 9 kg. The fur is quite long, and a thick undercoat grows for the winter. The color of different animals has pleasant shades from brownish-gray through grayish-blue to brown-olive; the belly is colored in lighter tones. The coat on the forelimbs, shoulders and back is longer than on other parts of the body, and the coat on the chest and abdomen is less developed.
The tail is no more than 10 cm; the sciatic calluses, characteristic of macaques and monkeys, are small. There are cheek pouches, which are two internal folds on both sides of the mouth, forming skin outgrowths that point down and hang down to the level of the chin. The skin, which is light all over the body, on the face and near the tail, becomes intensely pink and even red when the monkey becomes an adult. Sexual differences in adult animals are clearly visible, despite the fact that representatives of both sexes wear beards and sideburns – males are more massive than females.
The eyes are protected by the brow arches, more pronounced in males. Of all the senses, vision is the most developed. It is, like in humans, stereoscopic, which means that the macaque sees a three-dimensional image and estimates the distance.
The limbs are five-fingered, the thumbs on both hands and feet are opposed to the rest, which allows you to hold on to all sorts of objects, and perform quite subtle manipulations with them. The most developed part of the brain is the cerebral cortex.
Lifestyle and social behavior
The Japanese macaque is a diurnal animal, and like other primates, it spends most of its time searching for food. Periods of activity alternate with periods of relative rest, when the animals eat food folded in cheek bags, communicate with each other, or simply nap. To communicate with relatives, the Japanese macaque has an extensive repertoire of facial expressions and sound signals.
Japanese macaques live in groups of up to 20 individuals, with individuals of both sexes present. Each group has its own habitat. The leader of the group is a large strong male, and, as it turned out, not the most aggressive, but the most "smart". The main female, or group of females, with the closest social ties, plays a crucial role in choosing a leader. The alpha male (leader) changes either in the event of his death, or when a large group breaks up, when a vacant place is formed. The relationships of the females in the group are based on the basis of dominance-submission. Research has shown that daughters inherit their mother's status, with younger daughters ranking higher than their older sisters. Young males, growing up, leave the group, form bachelor "companies", or join other groups where there are females, occupying the lowest levels of the hierarchy. Daughters, as a rule, stay with their mothers.
Of particular importance in the behavior of monkeys is grooming-cleaning the partner's fur. This behavior performs important functions – hygienic and social. Grooming allows animals to build and strengthen their relationships in the group. For example, the dominant individual is cleaned especially long and carefully in order to express their "respect" to her, and at the same time to enlist support in the event of a conflict. There are many theories that explain the reasons for grooming, but it is quite obvious that the monkey is pleased when it is cleaned.
Japanese macaques have become famous for their ability to learn. This story began in 1950. On the island of Koshima, researchers from the University of Tokyo began to give macaques sweet potatoes – sweet potatoes, spreading them on the ground. By 1952, monkeys began to actively eat it. The animals liked the sweet potato, but they didn't like the sand that stuck to it. At first, the monkeys used their paws to clean the dirt and sand and eat the food, but one day, in 1953, a one-and-a-half-year-old female named Imo washed the sweet potato out of the mud in the river before eating it. From that moment on, she always did that. Her mother and sister were the first to follow suit, and by 1959, 15 of the 19 young monkeys on the island and 2 of the 11 adults were already washing sweet potatoes. By January 1962, almost all the monkeys in the Cosima Island colony were habitually washing potatoes before eating. Only a few adult monkeys born before 1950 did not learn how to do this.
When a new form of behavior that initially appeared in one individual is gradually perceived by others, it is nothing more than the transfer of information between members of the community. This process is already at the origin of culture-protoculture, as it is called by experts, or monkey culture.
Currently, Japanese macaques also "wash" wheat mixed with sand, throwing it into water, and thus separating the two components. In addition, these monkeys are famous for making snowballs in winter, apparently just for fun.
Nutrition and feeding behavior
Japanese macaques are unpretentious creatures and are indiscriminate in food. Scientists have found that they use about 213 species of plants for food – they eat shoots, fruits, even bark. They are happy to catch insects in the summer. In winter, when food is scarce, they look for nuts, gnaw the bark of trees and young twigs, and eat food waste.
During feeding, macaques actively use cheek bags, stuffing them with delicious food. When the group settles down to rest, nuts, or other food is taken out of the bags and eaten. In order to squeeze food out of the bag into the mouth, muscle effort is not enough, and the monkey has to help himself with his hands.
Interesting behavior has been observed in groups of macaques using hot springs. After a hot bath in wet wool, it is even colder in the cold, and those monkeys who have not bathed bring food to those taking a bath. However, macaques sitting in warm water in winter are actively fed by tourists.
Vocalization
Japanese macaques have a fairly rich acoustic repertoire. They can shout loudly, and in different situations, these cries are different. When feeding or moving around in the forest, monkeys often make characteristic gurgling sounds, thanks to which each individual knows where the other members of the group are.
Reproduction and upbringing of offspring
In Japanese macaques, there is a pronounced seasonality in breeding, which is an adaptation to harsh living conditions. Since there are several sexually mature males in the group, the father of all the babies born is not necessarily the main male. The leader mates primarily with dominant females, and the females, in turn, often reject the claims of young"cheeky". Young males often leave their group in the summer to try their luck on the side, but return to winter.
Pregnancy lasts from 170 to 180 days, the cub is born alone, twins are extremely rare. The weight of the baby at birth is about 500 grams, after a couple of hours, he holds on tightly to the mother's hair. In the first month, he "rides" on the chest, then more often-on the back of his parent. The appearance of a newborn is an event for the whole group. The females always come up and touch it. When the little macaque grows up, his aunts and older sisters are happy to babysit and play with him, but to escape from the stormy games, the baby runs to his mother. Milk feeding lasts up to a year, but for a long time the mother takes care of him, warms him in the cold winter. Only at the age of three does a young animal become a full-fledged member of the teenage company, at this time her mother has already a new newborn.
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