Living with the T1 Troop: Macaques in Yugawara
Yugawara's remaining macaque troop is small, persistent and deeply entangled with life at the edge of town. Here is what residents and visitors should know.
Wildlife
Wild animals in Yugawara.
The hills above town are home to wild animals. These pieces are written from here.
Monkeys
Twenty Years of Chasing Monkeys in Yugawara
Since 2004 Yugawara has sent people out to chase macaques off its streets: air guns, rubber bullets, a town team, and now fireworks, GPS collars, and a cooperation team its councillor describes as volunteers.
Firecrackers from the Town
Yugawara gives residents firecrackers and rocket fireworks on request, hands trained farmers animal-repellent fireworks and metre-long sticks, and takes reports of damage at the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Division.
Masato, the Monkeys, and the Yugawara Behind the Brochures
A Yomiuri TV report on Yugawara's monkey problem, and why the people who work the land belong in the story.
Deer
Sika deer are being caught in the mountains above town. Notable farm damage has not shown up here. The prefecture's cull target for Yugawara is 30.
Illustration: Yugawara Club
Deer Moving into the Mountains above Yugawara
Sika deer are moving into the mountains above Yugawara. The management cull is 30, after 20 and, before that, 70. Notable farm damage has not shown up.
Hakone's Deer, and the Question for Yugawara's Mikan
In October 2026 Nippon TV followed deer through Hakone and Odawara mikan farms that have lost half a harvest. Our groves are the slope between them.
Wild boar
Wild boar root up fields and gardens. Volunteers in Kawabori trap them, and in 2017 the hunters' association had 19 members, some in their eighties. Swine fever has reached Miyakami and Kajiya. It does not infect people.
Illustration: Yugawara Club
The Seven Boar Catchers of Kawabori
About ten volunteers in Kawabori, the seven boar catchers, set snares after damage above ¥5 million. Town News met them on 17 June 2023.
Swine Fever in Yugawara's Wild Boar
Classical swine fever has reached wild boar in Yugawara: four positives, two in Miyakami and two in Kajiya. It does not infect humans.
A Boar in Miyakami, and an Ageing Hunters' Association
A boar was reported in Miyakami on 18 January 2026, at about 16:05, on streets the macaques use. In 2017 the hunters' association had 19 members.