In the animal world, especially among mammals, the males are the ones who usually assume the leadership role of the herds, while the females take care of feeding and caring for the little ones.
Now, for the first time in 70 years, the macaque nature reserve on the Japanese island of Kyushu has witnessed the uprising of an alpha female.
The female, 9-year-old Yakei, became alpha after defeating her mother in a fight at the Takasakiyama Natural Zoological Garden in Oita city in April and subsequently doing the same with the 31-year-old alpha Sanchu of age, who previously led the troop for five years.
To confirm that Yakei was indeed the alpha female of the herd of 670 macaques, they left a pile of peanuts for the animals to pick up. Yakei was the first to eat the peanuts, confirming that it ranked first in the troop over males and females. In addition, according to the keepers, Yakei walks with its tail raised, something unusual for females, one more sample of its position.
The nature reserve was established for these monkeys in the early 1950s and is home to approximately 1,500 macaques , which are divided into two groups or herds. These animals are aggressive, so it is always recommended to tourists or visitors who come to this reserve not to maintain eye contact with the macaques, since they consider this gesture as a challenge.
