Photos

Double Jumper

Snow monkey crossing river in Nagano.

Just outside Nagano is the misnamed Hell Valley, a system of outdoor volcanic water pools built in 1966 to keep the Japanese macaques (snow monkeys) from using people's backyard hot tubs. Some 200 monkeys from three "troops" share the pools.

Macaque groups, called troops, have a strict hierarchy. An older male monkey with several male helpers rules a troop, deciding on where and when to migrate, as well as providing protection from other troops. Troops are composed of males and females of various ranks.

Males will move from troop to troop, but females will stay in their troop their whole life. Female rank is very important, as their babies will retain the hierarchical rank of their mother. Troops leaders have sometimes received their status due primarily to the position of their mother within the troop.

RAW picture turned sRGB for TE.