ANIMALS
REIGN OF NEW MONKEY QUEEN IS IN JEOPARDY
WORDS BRANDON SPECKTOR
A Japanese macaque bathing in a hot spring in winter
In southern Japan, a young female macaque upended societal norms by seizing control of her 677-member troop through a violent coup. Now her hard-won empire could be coming to an end. Yakei is a nine-year-old macaque living in a Japanese reserve, the Takasakiyama Natural Zoological Garden, where she has spent the last year reigning as the first female troop leader in the park’s 70-year history. After assuming the role of top female, Yakei tackled the troop’s four highest ranking males, finally assuming the troop’s coveted alpha position after beating up a 31-year-old male who had ruled the troop for five years.