Japanese university researchers and NHK camera crew have videotaped for the first time wild Japanese snow monkeys catching and eating fish.
The group led by Shinshu University Professor Tojo Koji published the video images in the international online journal Scientific Reports on Tuesday.
Professor Tojo and his team analyzed the feces of monkeys in the Kamikochi region of Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, and determined they could be eating fish.
The NHK crew joined them to find proof, from January through March this year.
They were able to take videos a total of 14 times of at least three groups of monkeys catching and eating fish.
Reports of primates other than humans catching live fish and eating them have rarely been made overseas.
The Shinshu University team says that because Japanese macaques live in one of the world's coldest habitats for monkeys, they need high-energy foods, such as fish, to overcome the Kamikochi region's harsh winter.
Tojo says he is very surprised to see monkeys eating fish. He says he wants to study how this behavior spread and the genetic relationships between monkeys that catch fish and those that do not.
The group led by Shinshu University Professor Tojo Koji published the video images in the international online journal Scientific Reports on Tuesday.
Professor Tojo and his team analyzed the feces of monkeys in the Kamikochi region of Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, and determined they could be eating fish.
The NHK crew joined them to find proof, from January through March this year.
They were able to take videos a total of 14 times of at least three groups of monkeys catching and eating fish.
Reports of primates other than humans catching live fish and eating them have rarely been made overseas.
The Shinshu University team says that because Japanese macaques live in one of the world's coldest habitats for monkeys, they need high-energy foods, such as fish, to overcome the Kamikochi region's harsh winter.
Tojo says he is very surprised to see monkeys eating fish. He says he wants to study how this behavior spread and the genetic relationships between monkeys that catch fish and those that do not.
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Summary
Japanese university researchers, led by Professor Tojo Koji of Shinshu University, filmed and documented for the first time wild Japanese snow monkeys catching and consuming fish. The footage was published in Scientific Reports on Tuesday. Over a period from January to March 202X, the team
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ID: 0b9fd4f7-e045-4c9a-8780-45252f0fcf1c
Category ID: nhk
URL: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20221130_29/
Date: Nov. 30, 2022
Created: 2022/12/01 10:22
Updated: 2025/12/09 10:56
Last Read: 2022/12/01 10:25