  The most northern-dwelling nonhuman primate in the world makes its home in the Japanese Alps, where the harsh winters seem more appropriate for polar bears than monkeys. But Japanese macaques, often called snow monkeys, have found a way to survive the bitter cold. Some face it head on, while a privileged few have found a way around it. Filmmakers for the series Life set out to record — and contrast — both behaviors.
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Watch "Macaques Soak in a Thermal Spa"
CAPTURING THE EXTREMES
Japanese macaques (scientific name
Macaca fuscata) inhabit a world characterized by extremes — towering peaks and deep valleys, hot, humid summers and frigid winters, bounties of food in some seasons and scarcities in others.
"I wanted to really show those extremes — the extreme cold, the extreme weather, the hardship — and then show how the monkeys tackle it and prevail," said Patrick Morris, producer of the "
Life. Morris also wanted to show side-by-side the extremes of privilege and privation, which play a significant role in Japanese macaque society.
Volcanic activity in the Japanese Alps created thermal springs in a region known as Hell's Valley, and a fortunate group of macaques has claimed the spot as its own. These select few pass the winter in relative warmth and comfort, a vastly different experience from the less privileged members of their species.
Although Morris and his cameraman, Alastair MacEwen, spent time filming macaques in the "hot tub," as he jokingly referred to the springs, they were most interested in getting footage of the lesser-documented macaques that survive far from the steaming waters.
"What makes this scene unique, I think, is the way we've captured the extremes of their habitat and how resourceful they need to be," said Morris.
A great deal of planning and some lucky breaks with the weather contributed to doing this successfully. With the help of Hiroo Saso, a Japanese "fixer" (an on-the-ground assistant for journalists or filmmakers in a foreign country) who handled most of the logistics, Morris and MacEwen were able to film the macaques deep in their woodland habitat and at the hot springs. They also captured dramatic aerial footage of the landscape. This enabled Morris to portray not only the extremes of Japanese macaque life but also to contrast the grand scale of landscape shots with close-up, intimate footage of the macaques. Orchestrating this kind of shoot was not a simple affair.
"It's trying to marry up the best weather conditions with those behavioral moments [you're looking for] and being in the right place at the right time with the right equipment and the best talent and knowledge," said Morris. It's quite a tall order, so he was elated when, over the course of the three-week shoot, it all came together. One such moment occurred as they filmed at the hot springs and snow started to fall gently on the bathing macaques — exactly the combination of weather and behavior they had been hoping to record.
Continue: The "Haves"
