While shivering Brits moan about the weather being cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey – these chilly primates are keeping warm by fluffing out their fur to act as coats.
The barbary macaques are native to the mountainous regions of Morocco or Algeria in Africa so are used to plunging temperatures.
And as these snaps show, their thick fur fluffs up in cold weather in order to capture air to heat their bodies “like a big winter coat”.
In one of the pictures the huddled macaques almost disappear in the snow, huddling into their thick fur for warmth.
But another shows their adaptability in the snow, as one sits happily enjoying an apple, seemingly unaffected by the snow.
The monkeys live at Trentham Monkey Forest in Staffordshire where 140 of the animals roam free in 60 acres of woodland.
Matt Lovatt, manager of Trentham Monkey Forest, said the monkeys, which can grow to a metre in height and weigh up to 16kg, are in fact much better adapted to the snowy weather than we are.
He said: “They live in high mountains where the temperatures do drop and it snows in winter.
“So in winter they develop really thick coats that will protect them from the cold and they survive very well.
“It is when the monkeys look their best actually, they look completely different to how they will come spring when they shed their thickest fur.
“Being temperate monkeys they don’t have too hard a time in the snow but we do make some changes to help them.
“Rather than scattering their food far and wide for them to roam and find we clump it so they can get it quicker during the shorter hours of daylight.
“They spend a lot more time in the trees than normally, staying off the snow to keep warm and they do naturally huddle together socially so that helps them stay warm.
“In the snow they like to follow each other’s tracks so that they can walk easier through the snow so we do clear areas for them to walk through.
“But it’s like they are wearing big winter coats so they are adapted fine to the snow.”
but how do they keep cool !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:( :(:(:|