Coping with the wintry weather.

Those of you who live on the east coast know we have been getting some serious snow this winter, which usually isn't the best weather for us primates. However, the Japanese macaque, which lives in the highest mountains in Japan has learned to deal with temperatures around -15 degrees F, which makes it the most northern-living non-human primate.

But it's the macaque's intelligence, not just it's ability to withstand the cold, that is most interesting. These mammals are one of three, along with humans and raccoons, that wash their food before eating. They also have highly developed language, with different accents belonging to isolated populations (similar to the way a person from Chicago has a different accent from someone in the deep south). And, to top that off, during the winter they throw snowballs, go "sledding" and have learned from the Japanese people to take refuge in the hot springs of their mountains.