Status
Least Concern
Habitat
Temperate forest, subalpine snow country
Range
Asia
Group
Primates
The northernmost non-human primate, and a case study in invented tradition.
In 1963 a juvenile at Jigokudani entered a hot spring. The behaviour spread through the troop by observation and is now passed to each new generation. Nearby troops without access never developed it. This is culture, documented from its first day.
The same population gave primatology its most famous case of innovation — potato-washing on Koshima — and with it the uncomfortable realisation that traditions in animals can begin with a single individual having an idea.
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Full gallery
Onsen
Jigokudani in heavy snowfall.
