Snow Monkey Cam Chat: Joining Words, Place Words, and Feeling Words

Class Chat: The Snow Monkey Cam

1Ms. Delgado: Good morning, class! Today we are watching a live camera beside a hot spring in the snowy mountains of Japan. Japanese macaques, often called snow monkeys, live in these mountains all year. Post what you notice, and please keep your comments kind.

2Amir: Whoa! There are at least ten monkeys in the water. Only their heads are poking out, and snowflakes are landing on their fur. They look like a group of friends in a giant bathtub.

3Lucia: Their faces are so red! Why are they sitting in the water when it is snowing? I would be freezing.

4Ms. Delgado: Good question, Lucia. The water in a hot spring is heated deep under the ground, so it stays warm even in winter. Some of the monkeys here soak in it to keep warm during the coldest months. Their thick fur helps too.

5Jun: Aww, there is a baby riding on its mother's back! It clings to her fur while she walks along the rocks. It looks like a tiny backpack with a face.

6Nia: Two monkeys are sitting on a rock above the pool. One is picking through the other one's fur with its fingers. Is it looking for bugs?

7Ms. Delgado: That is called grooming, Nia. Macaques groom each other to keep their fur clean, and grooming also helps them stay close friends.

8Amir: Yikes! One monkey just slipped off a rock and landed in the water with a big splash. It seems fine. Now it is floating near the edge, and the others did not even look up.

9Lucia: I wonder what they find to eat in winter. I looked for fruit on the trees, but the branches are bare.

10Jun: I read that snow monkeys eat bark and buds in winter because snow covers most of their other food.

11Nia: Hooray, the sun just came out! The snow on the rocks is sparkling, and the monkeys are climbing out of the pool to dry off. I will check the camera again after lunch.