Japanese macaques are famous for soaking in hot springs during winter, but new research suggests this behavior may serve ...

L ike humans, some other primates like to huddle in hot springs. Japanese macaques ( Macaca fuscata ), also called “snow monkeys,” famously gather at natural hot springs to soak together for hours.

They found that bathing in hot springs subtly reshapes the snow monkeys’ relationships with their parasites and gut microbes. The macaques that bathe showed different lice distributions and gut ...

Japan's snow monkeys soak in hot springs for thermoregulation and to relieve stress – a new study suggests there is another ...

Japanese macaques, colloquially referred to as snow monkeys, famously soak in steaming hot springs during winter. It's easy ...

Japanese macaques, colloquially referred to as snow monkeys, famously soak in steaming hot springs during winter. It's easy ...

On January 11, 2026, in Sichuan Province, located in southwestern China, a video recorded several monkeys relaxing in a ...

Japanese macaques, commonly referred to as 'snow monkeys', take an open-air hot spring bath, or 'onsen' at the Jigokudani (Hell's Valley) Monkey Park in the town of Yamanouchi, Nagano prefecture.