麻豆传媒

(Image: Diane McAllister/naturepl.com)

WELCOME to hell. This is the in Nagano prefecture, Japan. 鈥淛igokudani鈥� means 鈥渉ell valley鈥� 鈥� so called because of the rocky terrain and volcanic springs 鈥� although it is actually a rather heavenly place for monkeys.

Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata fuscata) are the only monkeys native to Japan, and live further north than any other non-human primate. Famous for their habit of bathing in hot springs, they can also leap, as can be seen in this shot by US photographer . The monkeys are strong swimmers, so if the one in this photo didn鈥檛 make the leap, it would be fine.

I once swam out to an uninhabited island off the Izu Peninsula south of Tokyo and encountered a troop of macaques. The alpha male didn鈥檛 notice me, he was happily copulating with his females. The females, for their part, seemed unperturbed by his attention. I later learned that bisexuality is often seen in Japanese macaques.

These monkeys can also use tools 鈥� something more commonly associated with apes. They have been spotted , perhaps even . I wouldn鈥檛 fancy sharing a hot spring with them, though, because they have the unpleasant habit of turning the spring into a giant, bubbling latrine. Come to think of it, that would be quite hellish.

This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淢ind the gap鈥�