Sunday, December 5, 2010

Monkeys ecstatic as hot spring opens

source:http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201012020340.html


About 100 Japanese monkeys eagerly clambered into a hot spring, stretching their limbs and getting loose on Wednesday, the first day their pool was filled at Hakodate Tropical Botanical Garden in Hokkaido.
The primates chattered appreciatively--especially the creaky oldsters--as they slipped into the soothing water. The day was a cold one, with temperatures sliding below zero.
The primates will be able to loll about in the bath until the season ends in early May.
According to garden officials, Japanese monkeys, much like Japanese themselves, tend to be fussy about water temperature.
The monkeys demand the water be heated to 41 degrees and won't get in the pool if it isn't, the officials said.
photoJapanese monkeys relax in a hot spring bath at Hakodate Tropical Botanical Garden in Hokkaido on Wednesday. (Yasuhiro Sugimoto)

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