Japanese Macaques

The Japanese macaque, also known as the snow monkey, lives on the islands of Japan, from sub-tropical forests in the south to sub-arctic forests in the north. No other species of non-human primate lives so far north in the wild. But these short-tailed, Old World monkeys, who roll snowballs for fun, have a notable way of withstanding temperatures as low as zero: they bathe in naturally heated hot springs. When out of the hot tub, snow monkeys alternate their time between the forest floor and the trees, where they feed on everything from berries and leaves to ferns, invertebrates, and, on occasion, even fish. Known to be good swimmers, snow monkeys are also very intelligent—like humans and raccoons, they’ve been seen washing their food before eating it. As for their lasting legacy, they’re believed to be the inspiration for the saying “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.”