Japanese macaques in hot spring, Jigokudani Monkey Park, Japan
© Per-Gunnar Ostby/Getty Images
Japanese macaques in hot spring, Jigokudani Monkey Park, Japan
When the weather outside is frightful, the snow monkeys here at the Jigokudani Monkey Park in Japan descend from the forest and soak in the naturally occurring hot springs, known as onsen. Snow monkeys, more formally known as Japanese macaques, hold the distinction of being the northernmost living nonhuman primates. They are a sophisticated lot, known for washing their food before eating it, occasionally engaging in snowball fights, and indulging in these warm baths. The macaques also make adorable poster primates for Monkey Day, an international holiday on December 14 that celebrates monkeys and ‘all things simian.’
Related Images
Eurasian lynx in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands of the Czech Republic
Leopard snoozing in a tree in Namibia for National Napping Day
Newborn brown-throated sloth with mother, Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica
Polar bear in Hudson Bay, Canada
Sea otters in Prince William Sound, Alaska, 30 years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill
For Siblings Day, lion cubs wrestling in Samburu National Reserve, Kenya
A rabbit in the grass
Laysan albatross chick on Midway Atoll, Hawaiian Leeward Islands
Bing Today Images
Northern hawk-owl, Canada
Dec 14, 2024
Boreal owl, Saskatchewan, Canada
Dec 14, 2023
American robin perched on a branch in Canada
Dec 14, 2021
Pine grosbeak
Dec 14, 2020
A female northern cardinal
Dec 14, 2018
