Snow Monkeys - Sisterly & Motherly Behavior

Although I photograph snow monkeys all across Japan, very often my encounters center around Jigokudani Yaen-koen because, naturally, this is the one location where the monkeys can almost always be seen. There are numerous photos published all over the internet of snow monkey troops luxuriating in the warm, refreshing onsens completely oblivious to the throng of onlookers and photographers immortalizing them.

However, the snow monkeys also are champions of other behaviors very similar to human friends, female empowerment. The troops are led by alpha males, and conflicts result from power plays and potential coups from males in the group, but as members of the troops form tight bonds among each other, the mothers of the groups for lifelong bonds with the peers in the group. While the male monkeys have a declared tendency to leave the troop to potentially form their own troop, the female snow monkeys are far more likely to spend their entire life in the same troop looking after each other.

The female hierarchy is based on their lineage to the current alpha, and their offspring inherit their position upon reaching maturity. Their closeness means amazing photo ops as you begin to notice the social bonds the female snow monkeys have. You will be hard pressed to see an infant running around the hot springs or any situation without direction supervision. The caring among the females goes up as well as down in age, as the the grandmothers are also very lovingly cared for by the lead mother snow monkey.