Chionophile
![Japanese macaques can survive in cold temperatures of below −15°C (5°F), and are one of very few primates that can do so.](/Images/godic/202501/04/Jigokudani_hotspring_in_Nagano_Japan_0014751.jpg")
![The musk ox thrived during the ice age 10,000 years ago, but after the earth had warmed up and the ice had receded it was forced to either migrate northward to cold environments for it to live in, or go extinct as the woolly mammoth did.](/Images/godic/202501/04/Greenland-musk-ox_hg4751.jpg")
![The snowshoe hare in its winter coat is well camouflaged among the snow.](/Images/godic/202501/04/Schneehase_2004-11-144752.jpg")
Chionophiles are any organisms (animals, plants, fungi, etc.) that can thrive in cold winter conditions (the word is derived from the Greek word chion meaning "snow", and -phile meaning "lover"). These animals have specialized adaptations that help them survive the harshest winters.