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July 01, 2026
 

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MONKEYS

Tourists take photographs of Japanese macaques, commonly referred to as "snow monkeys," taking an open-air hot spring bath at the Jigokudani Monkey Park in the town of Yamanouchi, Nagano Prefecture, in February last year.
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2026
Japan ‘snow monkey’ park to cap visitors after overcrowding and bad behavior
As the number of tourists snowballed, so did instances of bad behavior, such as trying to feed or touch the monkeys.
Punch, a Japanese macaque known for clinging to a stuffed orangutan, at the Ichikawa City Zoo in Chiba Prefecture in March
JAPAN / Society
Jun 25, 2026
‘Unacceptable’: Laser pointer aimed at Punch, the viral baby monkey
Pointing a laser at a monkey will cause it a great amount of stress, a zoo official said, adding that aiming one at its eyes could cause blindness.
Visitors gather in the rain to catch a glimpse of Punch the monkey at Ichikawa City Zoo in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, in April.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
May 18, 2026
Japan arrests Americans over stunt at baby monkey Punch’s zoo
Images on social media showed a person scaling the fence in a costume that included a smiley face head with sunglasses, prompting the monkeys to scatter.
Punch, a Japanese macaque known for clinging to a stuffed orangutan, looks on at Ichikawa City Zoo in Chiba Prefecture, in March.
JAPAN / Society
May 9, 2026
Punch, the lonely monkey, is growing up. He’s still a star.
Punch has handled the limelight better than most young stars. Since first hitting the headlines, he has slowly integrated into his troop and made friends.
Shingo Takatsu (left) and Soichi Tojima check a crop surrounded by a fence in Oda, Shimane Prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Apr 27, 2026
Shimane farming districts face onslaught from rising monkey population
Japanese macaques have become used to humans, stealing persimmons and daikons even with people standing nearby.
Baby Japanese macaque Punch sits next to a stuffed orangutan at Ichikawa City Zoo in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, on Feb. 19.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2026
Punch, the viral baby monkey, isn’t being bullied, Ichikawa City Zoo says
The 7-month-old Japanese macaque, often clinging to an orangutan plush, became an internet sensation after videos of him being chased by fellow monkeys were posted on social media.
A baby Japanese macaque named Punch drags a stuffed orangutan at Ichikawa City Zoo, in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, on Thursday.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2026
Punch-drunk love: Lonely baby monkey in Japan goes viral
A tiny Japanese macaque at a local zoo in Chiba Prefecture has become an online sensation, with people around the world rooting for him after he was abandoned by his mother.
A baby Japanese macaque named Punch sits next to a stuffed orangutan at Ichikawa City Zoo in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, on Thursday.
JAPAN
Feb 20, 2026
Monkey see, monkey soothe: Zookeepers get creative to save infant macaque
Punch, a baby Japanese macaque, was given the plush toy after being abandoned by his mother.
Ai, a chimpanzee known as a "genius" for her cognitive abilities, died on Jan. 9 at Kyoto University's Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior.
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2026
Kyoto University center launches memorial website for ‘genius’ chimpanzee
Along with memorial messages, the website is collecting donations to improve the breeding environment for 10 chimpanzees.
Studies involving Ai, a "genius" chimpanzee who has died at the age of 49, are said to have revealed "various aspects of the chimpanzee mind."
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2026
‘Genius’ chimpanzee Ai dies in Japan at 49
Aside from mastering Chinese characters and the alphabet, Ai could also identify the Arabic numerals from zero to nine and 11 colors, a primatologist said.
Chimpanzees show genuine reasoning and metacognition — the ability to weigh evidence, update beliefs and judge what they do or don’t know — while current AI systems do not.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 9, 2025
AI thinks it’s smart. Chimps may beg to differ.
Many people believe that animals with higher intelligence deserve to be treated more humanely, or at least not used for food.
Jane Goodall communicates with a chimp named Nana in June 2004 at a zoo in Magdeburg, Germany. She was the world's foremost authority on chimpanzees.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 6, 2025
Without Jane Goodall, chimps need new champions — us
Goodall revolutionized the way we see both great apes and ourselves. We can’t let her legacy fade away.
Jane Goodall spun her love of wildlife into a lifelong campaign that took her from a seaside English village to Africa and then across the globe in a quest to better understand chimpanzees.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Oct 2, 2025
Wildlife advocate and primate expert Jane Goodall dies at 91
The scientist and global activist was a pioneer in her field, both as a female scientist in the 1960s and for her work studying the behavior of primates.
A rescued baby orangutan rests in a basket in Bangkok on May 14.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Jun 11, 2025
Snakes on a plane highlight Thailand-India wildlife trafficking, NGO reports
Many of the animals seized are alive, showing demand for exotic pets is driving the smuggling trade, the nongovernmental organization said.
Nagoya University researchers used processed images of newts overlaid with snake scales to determine how long it took three Japanese macaques born in captivity to differentiate a scaled newt from snakes as they did to find a snake among such newts.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 6, 2025
Primates’ fear of snakes may be linked to reptiles’ scales, study finds
Nagoya University researchers conclude that snakes’ scales, rather than their elongated bodies, are what trigger fear among humans and monkeys.
An infant orangutan with its mother in Sepilok, Malaysia, on Saturday
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 19, 2024
Apes to stay at home as Malaysia tweaks ‘orangutan diplomacy’
Countries that buy Malaysian palm oil can “sponsor” one or more orangutans, and the funds collected will be used to implement conservation programs, minister says.
Orangutans at Malaysia's National Zoo in Kuala Lumpur in 2021. The orangutan is critically endangered, with a population of less than 105,000 on the island of Borneo, according to conservation group WWF.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
May 9, 2024
Malaysia eyes ‘orangutan diplomacy’ with nations that import palm oil
But concerned wildlife advocates are calling for alternative measures to protect the ape’s habitat and improve the sustainable production of the commodity.
Scientists have observed an orangutan applying medicinal herbs to a face wound in an apparently successful attempt to heal an injury, the first time such behavior has been recorded.
WORLD / Science & Health
May 3, 2024
Orangutan’s use of medicinal plant to treat wound intrigues scientists
Researchers said they believed this was the first documented case of a wild animal self-treating a wound.
Scientists on Wednesday identified what might be the genetic mechanism behind humankind's tailless condition — a mutation in a gene instrumental in embryonic development.
WORLD / Science & Health
Mar 3, 2024
People with tails? No, because of this ancient genetic mutation
The absence of a tail may have better balanced the body for orthograde — upright — locomotion and eventually bipedalism, said one scientist.
Bonobos groom each other at the Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife
Nov 18, 2023
Good neighbors: Bonobo study offers clues into early human alliances
Human society is founded on our ability to cooperate with others beyond our immediate family and social groups, and the same may be said about bonobos.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Yen hits 40-year low against the dollar, breaking ¥162 level
Japan's currency broke ¥162 to the dollar on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

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