Understanding Japanese Macaques No. 006 / Conditions for Joining a Group, Credits. Matsuura (Acoustic Cafe) The only requirement for being accepted into a group is simply to be together . Wild Japanese macaques do not stay in one place; they move around daily, eating and living as they go. Regarding their movements, a leading male doesn't determine the direction; rather, the group is generally pulled in the direction everyone else is heading. For example, during the winter when food is scarce, monkeys are said to know where everything is. "Where can I go to find food?" Moreover, some research suggests that it is the older females in the group who are most knowledgeable about this. Being recognized as a member of the group means simply following along. In that respect, Punch's minimum requirement for being recognized by the other monkeys is to stay in the monkey mountain no matter what. Wild Japanese macaque males have no restrictions on their behavior, so they can leave their group or form groups of only males. This is true even if they are males from other groups. If you want to join a group, the best thing to do is to follow them. You might be excluded at first. If you don't like it, you can leave. But if you still want to stay in this group, you must stick with them no matter what. It is said that by spending time together, affinity will develop, and eventually, you will be recognized by the other members of the group. Therefore, no matter how much he is bullied, bitten, or thrown into the water (and I repeat, no monkey would ever think of throwing someone into the water), Punch has no future unless he stays with them. Who decides whether someone is pitiful? What lies beyond that word? Japanese macaques are social animals that live in groups. There is nothing more unfortunate than having to keep one alone. For 30 years, it has been all alone, never being groomed by anyone, and never being able to groom anyone. Can it really be said that it is happy to live such a monotonous life? Imagine that you will never meet another human being for the rest of your life. Or imagine that your newborn child will live an 80-year life without ever meeting you or any other human being. Let me reiterate, the zookeepers are caring for this animal while considering how it will live for the next 30 years. Even if, unfortunately, its ears are bitten off in a fight, or its tail is bitten off and shortened, don't they think that living with other monkeys would be better for its punching ability? No matter how hard we try, we can't understand what monkeys are thinking. But we have to focus on the monkeys, not the humans. This doesn't mean they have to be together unconditionally 24 hours a day. It's still dangerous to let them live with other monkeys at night. It's up to the zookeepers to observe the overall situation and decide how to continue the cohabitation. However, if they stop cohabiting, that's the end of it. But if there's a clear threat to their lives, I think the zoo has no choice but to decide whether to continue or stop. #JapaneseMacaque #SnowMonkey #UnderstandingMacaques #GroupIntegration #MonkeySociety #PrimateBehaviour #JapaneseMonkeys #MacaqueCommunity #AnimalBehaviour #PrimateCare #MonkeyLife #SocialHierarchy #MacaqueFamily #WildlifeEducation #NatureDiscussion #ZooLife #UnderstandingPrimates #MonkeyGroup #AnimalWelfare #PunchTheMacaque #MatsuuraAcousticcafe 🫡 @ichikawa_zoo

Poor Grandpa Sotomaru 😢 His ear looks badly bitten and the bleeding looked painful. Injuries like that can happen so quickly within macaque social conflicts. Wishing him a speedy recovery and some peaceful days ahead. 🐒❤️ mating season,is a difficult time, amongst males. My guess is that Sotomaru was already feeling stressed, uncomfortable, and frustrated because of his injury. He really didn’t seem himself. Sometimes pain and tension can lower tolerance levels, and Punch may have unfortunately become the target of that irritation that led, to him scolding punch so badly all around the world could hear Punch's screams. 🤦‍♀️😌 yet here's punch trying to comfort him.#JapaneseMacaque #SnowMonkey #Sotomaru #PunchTheMacaque #MonkeyLife #PrimateBehaviour #MacaqueSociety #AnimalBehaviour #MonkeyCommunity #JapaneseMonkeys #PrimateCare #ZooLife #UnderstandingPrimates #MacaqueDynamics #AnimalWelfare #MonkeyFamily #NatureObservation #StressBehaviour #TeamPunch #WildlifeEducation

("Born with a silver spoon in its mouth") I really dislike the behaviour of this macaque. It acts like it can do whatever it wants, constantly tormenting Punch and stirring up tension within the troop. It shows how quickly the group can become unsettled when one macaque keeps causing trouble. What’s frustrating is that Punch seemed to get scolded instead, despite clearly being chased and harassed. Sotomaru biting his leg and lower back obviously hurt him, yet the bullying continued afterwards. Sotomaru, keep your hands off Punch. People are noticing. #JapaneseMacaque #SnowMonkey #PunchTheMacaque #MonkeyLife #PrimateBehaviour #MacaqueDrama #AnimalBehaviour #MonkeyCommunity #PrimateCare #GroupDynamics #JapaneseMonkeys #WildlifeDiscussion #AnimalWelfare #MonkeySociety #NatureObservation #MacaqueFamily #ZooLife #UnderstandingPrimates #TeamPunch #MonkeyWorld

Matsuura (Acoustic Cafe) Credits... Returning Japanese macaques to the group No. 005 / Hypothesis We formulated a hypothesis regarding returning abandoned baby monkeys back to their group. Japanese macaque groups are made up of multiple families centered around a female. I often likened this to a "neighborhood association" in human society. One female and her children constitute a family. Several such families live together, maintaining a balance of closeness and distance while being aware of each other. Males generally don't have much involvement. I mentioned that there are as many societies as there are monkeys, but in the case of Japanese macaques, the females stay in the group (group) while the males come and go. When I considered this, I thought that perhaps males, who tend to leave and rejoin the group, would be more likely to return. Females are connected to their mothers by an invisible bond. Therefore, it would be unnatural, considering the ecology of Japanese macaques, for a female with no support to return to the group. In fact, the very first individual raised by artificial rearing, a male named Gori, lived in a group (*). This suggests that it would be quite difficult for the female Otome to return to the group. That's what I thought. Sadly , Gori died a few years later. The cause of death was a congenital heart defect. We couldn't completely rule out the possibility that this congenital defect might have been a contributing factor to the neglect of the child. #JapaneseMacaque #SnowMonkey #MacaqueIntegration #Hypothesis #PrimateBehaviour #MonkeyLife #JapaneseMonkeys #AnimalWelfare #MonkeyCommunity #PrimateResearch #UnderstandingPrimates #GroupDynamics #MacaqueFamily #WildlifeEducation #NatureDiscussion #ZooLife #MonkeySociety #AnimalConnection #PunchTheMacaque #SocialBehaviour #MatsuuraAcousticcafe

Matsuura (Acoustic Cafe) Returning Japanese macaques to the group No. 018 / Go, Punch! These days, every little thing a person does becomes fodder for social media. If they just raise their hand, it's reported as them waving. Even the slightest everyday trouble elicits comments like, "Do something about it! " If someone just happens to be in the way and brushes something away, and it just happens to fall into a pond, they'll be told, "You pushed me into the pond, how awful!" No monkey is thinking of deliberately pushing someone into a pond. That's the trend. It was the same with the floating otters. What's going to happen? Will I go back? Will I make friends? Will I be bullied? Please do something! I know you're all worried. I understand your desire for a quick answer, but the zookeepers are caring for the animals while considering how they will live for the next 30 years. I hope you will look at the animals and the zookeepers with a long-term perspective and an open mind. This boom will probably fade away after a while. That's why I'd be so happy if you came to the zoo in 5 or 10 years to see how Punch is doing. I'm really happy that when Punch was featured in the news, so many people remembered him and said, "Oh yeah, there was Otome before, right?" Thanks to those people who remembered, I was able to write about the past like this. I'd like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude. This marks the end of the series titled "Returning Japanese Macaques to Their Group," but I'm planning to change the title and broaden the scope a bit to write about the basic ecology of Japanese macaques. I think this will also be helpful when observing monkey mountains. Thanks to Punch, many people have taken notice of these lovable Japanese macaques, so please continue to follow along if you have the time. Thank you. #JapaneseMacaque #SnowMonkey #GoPunchGo #PunchTheMacaque #MacaqueJourney #PrimateBehaviour #MonkeyLife #JapaneseMonkeys #MonkeyCommunity #AnimalWelfare #PrimateCare #GroupIntegration #UnderstandingPrimates #WildlifeEducation #NatureLovers #MacaqueFamily #ZooLife #LittleFighter #MonkeySupport #StrongTogether

Matsuura (Acoustic Cafe) Returning Japanese macaques to the group No. 010 / What it means to return to the group. What does it mean to return to the herd? What is the ultimate goal of returning to the herd? In the case of Otome, she gives birth and raises her offspring within this group. I thought that once this was done, she would have "returned to the group." Can a girl who wasn't raised by her mother raise a child on her own? Based on my observations, I wasn't particularly worried, but you never know what might happen. On June 9, 2013, Otome gave birth. We knew she was pregnant through prior observation, so we kept a close eye on her every day, but she has had no problems raising the baby. She has managed the afterbirth and umbilical cord herself and is in a proper breastfeeding position. Wow, that's amazing, Otome! You're doing a great job. I remember having a conversation like that. That year saw a series of births among women close to Otome's age. Mimi and Ume's children were classmates with Otome's children. Actually, when a baby is born, you can tell by the atmosphere the moment you enter the monkey enclosure in the morning, even without seeing the baby. The air in the group is different. My fellow zookeeper and I would say, "Oh, it looks like a baby has been born," and when we checked, we would usually find a baby animal. Otome was utterly exhausted on the day she gave birth. She would lie down or sit up while holding the baby. It was immediately obvious that she was exhausted. However, she was eating properly, so I wasn't worried.Otome was just like any other female monkey, and she was raising her first child with remarkable skill. It was around feeding time in the evening, about two weeks later. Otome was acting as if she was comforting her baby. She seemed completely smitten with her child. She was gazing at her baby intently, munching on something, and facing her child. image Otome and Yae This is called lip smacking , a form of communication that indicates affinity and a sense of security, and is also seen between parents and children. When I saw this, I trembled with an emotion I had never felt before. We zookeepers are always supposed to be calm and composed when interacting with animals, but this time it was impossible. I frantically pressed the shutter button. This photo has become one of the most memorable pictures from my time as a zookeeper. Otome's first child (Yae) grew up healthy. At that moment, I truly felt that "Otome had returned to the herd." #JapaneseMacaque #SnowMonkey #MacaqueIntegration #ReturningToTheGroup #PrimateBehaviour #MonkeySociety #JapaneseMonkeys #AnimalWelfare #MonkeyFamily #GroupDynamics #PrimateCare #UnderstandingPrimates #WildlifeEducation #MonkeyCommunity #NatureDiscussion #SocialHierarchy #MacaqueLife #ZooLife #AnimalConnection #PunchTheMacaque #yae

Getting to Know Japanese Macaques No. 018 / A Peaceful Life Matsuura (Acoustic Cafe) Atomaru is incredibly popular, isn't he? (laughs) If I had a way to tell him, I'd probably tell him to leave me alone. (laughs) Or maybe I'd just chuckle to myself with my head down. From your videos, it seems like Atomaru is living a very peaceful life. Indeed... he's getting older now (he's 22, so he's not exactly an old man... born April 28, 2004), and I think there are hardly any fights anymore. Goron, Ginpei, and Shake all fought less and less as they got older. Goron chased Akira until his later years, but Akira wasn't really running away for real. As I approached retirement, the generation below me, like Atomaru and Akira, who was the same age as me, were still going strong. It's been three years since I stopped seeing them every day. Three years may seem like a long time to us, but as you can imagine, one year is not the same as one year for us animals, whose lifespan is over 30 years. I believe all of our monkeys have aged peacefully in their later years. I hope that Akira, Atomaru, and of course all the other monkeys will continue to do so.#JapaneseMacaque #SnowMonkey #PeacefulLife #MonkeyLife #PrimateBehaviour #JapaneseMonkeys #MacaqueFamily #AnimalWelfare #NatureLovers #WildlifeEducation #MonkeyCommunity #PrimateCare #UnderstandingPrimates #CalmMoments #ZooLife #MacaqueWorld #AnimalConnection #PeacefulMoments #MonkeyWatching #PunchTheMacaque

This hypothesis was wrong in a good way. Otome, being a female, safely returned to the group, but Ryu (a male) who tried to rejoin later had difficulty adjusting. I now believe that it 's more about the inherent qualities (personality) of the baby monkey than whether it's male or female . Otome had a fearless personality. She would sense danger and quickly run away, and she could judge the situation to know where she was safe. During feeding time, she would stay behind us zookeepers to avoid being targeted by other monkeys. Eventually, she started to hang out not only with Goron but also with a powerful female family in the group. Usually, doing something like that would get you treated as a nuisance and threatened, but Otome had an exquisite sense of distance. Based solely on videos I've seen online, Punch seems to possess similar qualities to Otome. However, Ryu (male) was quite timid. When other monkeys tried to reach out to him, he would scream, "Aaaah, aaaah," which would only attract more attackers. Goron was still alive at that time and initially protected Ryu, but eventually he stopped caring about Ryu. The other monkeys noticed this and attacked Ryu without hesitation, even when Ryu was right behind Goron. Even when Ryu was screaming, Goron would silently continue eating his food. Goron was quite old at that time and may have been preoccupied with his own affairs. Or perhaps he couldn't hear Ryu very well. The ones who were attacking were the monkeys a little older than their peers, but the one I thought was particularly childish was Akira (male), who had entered his growth spurt and was rapidly developing into a male. He dragged the monkey around mercilessly, and we were all stunned, thinking, "Enough already!" Another monkey that showed no restraint was Akira's mother, Chobi (female). We often talked about how personality is definitely hereditary. #JapaneseMacaque #SnowMonkey #MacaqueRehabilitation #PrimateCare #MonkeyBehaviour #WildlifeDiscussion #AnimalWelfare #MacaqueCommunity #PrimateResearch #JapaneseMonkeys #MonkeyFamily #GroupIntegration #UnderstandingPrimates #NatureDiscussion #Hypothesis #AnimalBehaviour #MonkeyLife #RespectWildlife #ZooLife #PunchTheMacaque Matsuura (Acoustic Cafe)...........