(ORDO NEWS) — Japanese macaques are now controlled by a fairly young female who lives in a nature reserve located in the southern part of the country. She manages the pack, which included 677 individuals.
Over the past 70 years that this reserve has existed, for the first time it was the female who became the leader. Now her power may end, because the mating season has come and the female can be overthrown by the male who decided to care for her.
A real upheaval has taken place at the Takasakiyama Natural Zoological Garden. A female Japanese macaque, named Yakei, has taken the place of the leader of a fairly large flock.
When she fought for power, she was able to defeat not only her own mother, but also four young males. What is most striking is that Yakei defeated the previous leader – the male Nanchu, who turned 31 years old. It was he who led the local macaques for the last five years.
Yu Kaigaishii of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science said that Japanese macaques often struggle for power. At the same time, females become leaders extremely rarely.
Japanese macaques have a very strict hierarchical community. Those animals that occupy high ranks get more food and can mate with any partners they choose.
For example, the rank of a male is affected by how long he is in the pack, because when the animals reach puberty, they leave their native pack. Females always have a lower rank than their mothers. In some situations, macaques can take the lead by force, but this is predominantly more for males.
The female’s leadership came as a surprise to experts, but now it is under threat, because the male Luffy began courting her at the age of 18. He may well overthrow Yakei, but the female continues to hold on and does not give in to courtship on his part.
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