аÄÃÅ¿ª½±½á¹û

Jigokudani Monkey Park by Motokoka-

Top Ten Astonishing Facts about Jigokudani Monkey Park

Jigokudani Monkey Park is located in Yamanouchi, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The Park is part of Joshnestu Kogen National Park in the valley of the  Yokoyu-River, in the Nothern part of the prefecture. 

The Park was established in 1964 to create space for the social structure of the study of Japanese Macaques. According to rumors, some say that the park was built after the locals realized the climbing of monkeys into the nearby ryokan hot springs. In the article are the top ten astonishing facts about Jigokudani Monkey Park.

1. Jigokudani means ” Hell’s Valley

Jigokudani meaning Hell’s Valley did not come out from an anecdote or is not a myth by the people who named it Jigokudani. Actually, the name arose due to the steep mountains and the strong smell of sulphur emitting steam and boiling water bubbles.

The hot water comes out of small crevices in the frozen ground surrounded by steep cliffs and formidable cold and hostile forests. 

2. It is home to a large number of snow monkeys

Snow Monkey at Jigokudani Monkey Park by saeknomao –

Snow monkeys are also known as Japanese macaque. The snow monkeys are terrestrial Old World monkey species that are native to Japan only. The monkeys live in areas covered with snow for months yearly. The monkeys can live in a colder climate than other non-human primates. Their double naming is Macaca fuscata.

The monkeys got to the valley during winter but can search for wild food elsewhere in the park. The large number of snow monkeys made the Jigokudani Monkey Park famous.

3. Jigokudani appeared in the documentary “Baraka” 

Baraka is a 1992 documentary film with no narrative it was directed by Ron Fricke, an American film director, and cinematographer. The film is the first film ever to be restored and scanned at 8K resolution ( 8000 pixels). Jigokdani Monkey Park became famous after it appeared in the documentary.

4. Jigokudani is not the farthest north that monkeys live

The monkeys do not only reside in Jigokudani Monkey Park. They also reside in the Shimokita Peninsula in the northern part of Honshu Island and the northwest area of this peninsula.

Shimokita peninsula owes its name to its being the lower portion of the former Kita District of Mutsu Province before its division in1868 from the pre-modern province.

Shimokita is North of Jigokudani and so the climatic conditions experienced in the Jigokudani Monkey Park are also experienced in Shimokita. This means that the monkeys are adapted to these two places.

5. The monkeys were forced to migrate to Jigokudani Monkey Park

Human beings started cutting trees around the mountainous region aiming to develop ski resorts and install ski runs, and chair lifts from the 1950s onward. The monkeys experienced several threats due to human encroachment into their native habitat.

The monkeys were forced to migrate to the lower mountainous regions like Jigokudani and the Shimokita Peninsula. The regions were colder though but the fleeing monkeys had to adapt to this new environment. 

6. The monkeys are fed by park attendants

During the human encroachment on their natural habitat, the monkeys started raiding the farms of the settlers. They were highly considered pests and so, the people hunted them then and then. 

The local people started the daily practice of feeding the monkeys so as to encourage them to live in the Jigokudani Park rather than head to the villages for food raids. The park attendants give them a reasonable amount of raw barley, soybeans, and apples. The food is not so much but it can make them survive.

The reason why the attendants give them a limited amount of food is that the monkeys also need to fend for themselves and not make them over-reliant on the food. Visitors are not allowed to feed them because it was discovered that they often became tense and aggressive when fed by visitors.

7. The monkey’s behavior is adorable

Japanese Macaques by PMS2718 –

According to the ” Origin of Species” by Charles Darwin, human beings are complex forms of monkeys for instance human beings advanced by mutation from simple beings which are monkeys to complex human beings today. If you get to visit Jigokudani Monkey Park, actually you can get a sense from the theory of Darwin. 

The monkeys in Jigokudani Park, do baths in hot springs as human beings do. They observed human beings soaking in the hot springs and copied the behavior. They find the activity enjoyable and relaxing as humans do. They are now adapted to the hot springs and can withstand the cold climate during winter. 

8. The park is open throughout the year

Tourists at Jigokudani Monkey Park by alala_p –

Jigokudani Monkey Park is open to both inbound and domestic tourists. The park is exceptionally awe-inspiring from the end of November to March. During these four months, the winter season is at its peak. The snow blankets the whole area. 

People are allowed to take pictures of the monkeys but are not allowed to feed them. Also, videos of monkeys taking a bath in the man-made pool are also provided to interested people especially those who don’t have the chance to visit the park. Cameras installed around the pool are set to capture the scenes in the pool.

9. Sogo Hara is credited for the establishment of the park

Snow Monkeys at Jigokudani Monkey Park-

Sogo Hara was an employee of Nagano Electric Railway. He discovered the original troop of the snow monkeys when he was hiking in Jigokudani. He observed that the troop of monkeys was decreasing in the region due to male encroachment.

 He advised the people to entice the monkeys to the mountainous region by feeding them instead of hunting them. Soga Hara led the movement to establish the monkey park so that the monkeys would be safe. Warm baths were created in the park from the hot springs just for the monkeys.

10. Jigokudani Monkey Park is man-made

Jigokudani Monkey Park by Motokoka –

Despite the fact that Jigokudani Monkey Park is situated in an area with natural climatic conditions and topography, it is a man-made park. The reason behind its man-made nature is that the people pushed the monkeys to the park, but baths using natural resources like hot water springs from crevices in the mountainous area. 

Sogo Hara mobilized the people to establish the park and so it was not existing then. Don’t confuse Shimokita Peninsula with Jigokudani Monkey park because the monkeys also live in Shimokita Peninsula. The fencing of the park was questioned as limiting the freedom of the monkeys.

The park is a lace of conservation and is within the natural territory of the troop of the monkeys. It is also a place for scientific observation ad study but not experimentation with monkeys. Let us take care of the rare species of snow monkeys safely.