The animal I chose to study is the Japanese macaque, more commonly known as the Japanese snow monkey. Sir David Attenborough recently described the macaque as "one of the most successful and versatile primates", praising its ability to be "versatile, resilient, enterprising, hardy and able to survive in extreme conditions". This essay will continue by examining the Japanese macaque in several ways. First, I will describe the physical characteristics of the animal, paying particular attention to how its appearance has adapted to allow it to dominate its habitat. Second, I will discuss the environment macaques live in and the unique abilities they maximize to develop a strategy to ensure the longevity of the breed. Finally, I will consider the different competitors for survival that exist in the macaque environment. According to Gron (2007), the macaque's fur is brown in color but its shade varies from a light gray or yellow-brown to completely brown. They are best known for their rosy red faces. Macaques are primarily quadrupedal, meaning they use all four limbs to move around on land. The males spend the majority of their time on the ground while the female takes refuge in the trees. Conservation International (2014) describes a degree of sexual dimorphism between males and females, with the male measuring between 537 and 607 mm and weighing between 11.0 and 18.0 kg. The female is smaller, measuring between 472 and 601 mm and also lighter, weighing between 8.3 and 18.0 kg. A picture of a macaque is included in Appendix 1. The abbreviation of Japanese macaque to Japanese snow monkey indicates the geographic location of the animal. The macaque lives in subtropical regions...... middle of paper ......e_macaque/behav [Accessed: February 12, 2014].Hanya, G. 2004. Diet of a troop of Japanese macaques in the Yakushima coniferous forest. International Journal of Primatology, 25(1), pp. 55--71.Hays, J. 2014. SNOW MONKEYS (JAPANESE MACAQUE) | Facts and details. [online] Available at: http://factsanddetails.com/japan/cat26/sub164/item887.html#chapter-3 [Accessed: February 12, 2014].International, C. 2014. Japanese Macaque (Snow Monkey) - Conservation International. [online] Available at: http://www.conservation.org/learn/biodiversity/species/profiles/more_primates/tree/Pages/japanese_macaque.aspx [Accessed: February 12, 2014]. Watanabe, K. and Muroyama, Y. 2005. Recent range expansion of Japanese macaques and associated management issues. In: Paterson, J. and Wallis, J. eds. 2005. . Commensalism and conflict: the human-primate interface. Normand (OK): Am Soc Primatol.