The Japanese Macaque is very intelligent. It is the only animal other than humans and raccoons that is known to wash its food before eating it. Researchers studying this species left sweet potatoes out on the beach for them to feed on, then witnessed one female taking the food down to the sea to wash the sand off it. After a while, others started to copy her behavior. This trait was then passed on from generation to generation, until eventually, all except the very oldest members of the troop were washing their food in the sea.
Japanese macaques, dubbed "snow monkeys," take a dip in a hot spring...
It is often the subject of Buddhist myths, and is thought to be the inspiration behind the saying "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.
