What is it ?... (fauna)

The Japanese Macaque

The Japanese Macaque is very smart. It is the only animal other than humans and raccoons that is known to wash its food before eating it. Researchers studying this species left sweet potatoes out on the beach for them to feed on, then witnessed one female taking the food down to the sea to wash the sand off it. After a while, others started to copy her behavior. This trait was then passed on from generation to generation, until eventually, all except the very oldest members of the troop were washing their food in the sea. A somewhat altered account of this incident was the basis for the “Hundredth Monkey” meme. The Japanese Macaque (Macaca fuscata), also known as the Snow Monkey, is a terrestrial Old World monkey species native to northern Japan, although an introduced free-ranging population has been living near Laredo, Texas since 1972. It is the most northern-living non-human primate. Individuals have brown-gray fur, a red face, hands and bottom, and a short tail. Also in recent studies, it has been found that the Japanese Macaque can develop different accents, like humans. It was found that macaques in areas separated by only a couple hundred miles can have very different pitches in their calls, their form of communication.