This is another effort from the Jigokudani Monkey Park near Yudanaka in Japan. Although the monkeys are wild they come down from the hills to bathe in the hot springs during cold weather. They’re the only macaques in the world known to bathe in this way and are apparently the most northern dwelling primates on the planet (other than humans of course). This youngster had been separated from his mother and looked a little sorry for himself. Happily, they were soon reunited (EM120902)

Tags:   Japan Snow Monkeys Yudanaka Snow Monkeys Jigokudani Macaques Baby Macaque Primate Onsen Hot Spring Nagano Olympus M43 Wildlife Nature Animal

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This is another one from the Otowa-bashi bridge in Hokkaido in northern Japan. The red-crowned cranes (or “Tancho” in Japanese) are incredible creatures renowned for their balletic mating dance and the fact that they remain partners for life. They're a big part of Japanese culture and mythology and some ancient literature claims that they are immortal. On this occasion the cranes didn’t move as close to the bridge as they usually do and they were out of the reach of most cameras, including mine. I was lucky that our guide Ando-san was a superb photographer (and Anglophile) and allowed me to use his camera and extremely long telephoto lens.

Tags:   M43 Olympus Japan Hokkaido Tsurui Red-Crowned Cranes Cranes Mist Sunrise River Tancho Travel Nature Landscapes Otowa-Bashi

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This rather hirsute gentleman was snapped whilst nonchalantly wandering down the middle of a road in Scotland's Outer Hebrides. He didn’t have a care in the world (C2060636)

Tags:   Highland Bull Olympus M43 M.Zuiko 40-150 Wildlife Bull Fringe Animal Nature Scotland Hebrides

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This is another one from the Jigokudani Monkey Park near Yudanaka in Japan. Although the monkeys are wild they come down from the hills to bathe in the hot springs during cold weather and have no fear of people whatever. It's fascinating to watch them going through their repertoire of human-like facial expressions. This female was full of coy smiles and furtive glances - I suspect she had the boys twisted around her little finger (EM120609)

Tags:   Nagano Snow Monkey Monkey Japan Snow Monkeys Yudanaka Snow Monkeys Jigokudani Macaques Travel Nature Wildlife Onsen Primate Hot Spring Hot Spring

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I know some people will find this image a little disturbing but I couldn’t help thinking of the famous Edvard Munch painting when I saw this snow monkey at the Jigokudani Park in Japan. I was obviously concerned that he was in distress so I kept an eye on him for a while. Thankfully he seemed to perk up and soon rejoined his friends (EM121164)

Tags:   Monkey Snow Monkey Macaque Hot Spring Nagano Munch Ape Primates Animal Onsen Japan Snow Monkeys Yudanaka Snow Monkeys Jigokudani Macaques Edvard Munch The Scream

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