The primate parade captured on film stretched well into the distance.

Japanese macaques are different to other nonhuman primates, as they live further north and in colder climates that have months of snowfall, earning them the nickname “snow monkeys”.

While some of these monkeys like to escape the bitter cold by bathing in onsen hot springs, others have found another way to keep their paws out of the snow, and this video shows that if one monkey does it, then the rest of the group will follow too.

▼ Twitter user @baritone_666 posted this video on Twitter, saying his mother sent it to him on messaging app Line.

Filmed outside the family home, @baritone_666 says it’s not uncommon for his mother to see monkeys occasionally in the area, but usually there are only a few of them at a time, like in this video.

The monkey parade filmed in the snow came as a surprise to @baritone_666’s mother, and a number of other viewers who saw the clip as well.

“Look at them strutting across like they own the place!”
“At the 30-second mark, you can see a baby clutching onto its mother’s stomach!”
“That was a bit nerve-racking; some of the younger ones almost fell off as they tried to make their way across!”
“I love how they all stick together. It’s like they’re looking out for each other as they walk along too.”
“This is like something from a Ghibli movie!”

With so many monkeys strolling along the telephone wires above the snowy landscape, this really does feel like something out of an anime film. Hopefully we won’t see any Totoro characters copying these monkey shenanigans in future, though. That sort of thing is best left on roadside walls.

Source: Hamusoku
Featured image: Twitter/@baritone_666