Poolside politics are rife among the mountain-dwelling Japanese macaques of Jigokudani Yaen-koen, or Jigokudani Monkey Park. In this strictly hierarchical society the lowest-ranking individuals have to sit it out in the cold, waiting for a higher-ranking monkey to leave the thermal pools where they famously soak in the warm waters.The pools offer respite from the region's freezing temperatures, but bathing is a relatively recent adaptation for these monkeys. In the early 1960s a young female was the first to wade into a hot spring in the mountains of Nagano to retrieve some soya beans. As she gathered her food she found the warmth of the water to her liking, and since then it has become a cultural norm.
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