Wild Macaque Troop - Awaji Island Monkey Centre, Japan

Each day a wild troop of Japanese macaques comes down from the forested hills of Awaji Island to the Awaji Island Monkey Center (淡路島モンキーセンター), on the island's southeast coast in Hyogo.

They aren't caged and they come and go as they please, usually arriving in the morning, spending the day lounging, grooming and squabbling, then drifting back up the mountain at dusk.

Babies cling to their mothers' bellies or ride on their backs while the youngsters chase each other across the rocks, and wild sika deer sometimes wander in from the same hillside. In winter the troop forms saru dango (サル団子), or "monkey dumplings", huddling together in tight furry balls to stay warm.

Did You Know? Japanese macaques live farther north than any other primate apart from humans. Some troops survive snowy winters in the mountains of northern Japan.

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