Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Preliminary interviews and field observations
of the human-long-tailed macaque interface at Lopburi
Lopburi city is home to intense human-macaque overlap because there are high
populations of both species and close interactions between them. Some previ-
ous limited investigations have recorded evidence of both mutualism, i.e., bene-
ficial relationships (e.g., provisioning of macaques and tourism revenues for
the local community) and conflict, i.e., detrimental relationships (e.g., damage
to households and physical injuries to the macaques) (Aggimarangsee,
1992
;
Malaivijitnond and Hamada,
2008
). However, no in-depth study of this inter-
face, its potential threats to either species, or of human attitudes exists. Threats
associated with intense primate interrelationships include bidirectional infec-
tious agent transmission, physical injury, conflicts over resources, economic
losses and exploitation or condemning of the non-human primate species (Hill,
2005
; Lee and Priston,
2005
; Srivastava and Begum,
2005
; Zhao,
2005
). These
threats not only affect the health of the primate species present but the sustain-
ability of such co-existence (Srivastava and Begum,
2005
; Lee and Priston,
2005
). Therefore, it is necessary to assess the human-macaque interconnections
in Lopburi in order to highlight any threats to its participants and to evaluate
the need for any management incentives which encourage the sustainability of
positive relationships. This preliminary investigation focused on using an eth-
noprimatological approach to investigate the human-macaque interface within
“Muang Lawo” or the Old City area surrounding two historical shrines - Prang
Sam Yot and Sarn Pra Karn - in Lopburi, Thailand (
Figure 5.2
). Lopburi is
one of the five sites in Thailand which have been highlighted as suffering from
long-tailed macaque “overpopulation” (Malaivijitnond and Hamada,
2008
), it
makes a valuable study site into the human-macaque interface as it incorpo-
rates three high human traffic components: an urban residential area, a func-
tioning religious complex and a popular tourist destination.
As part of the investigation of this interface, preliminary data were collected
by means of verbal interviews and general observations.
Interviews
Interviews were conducted between May-July 2009 and included the opinions
and observations of key persons and/or organization representatives involved
in the human-macaque interface, i.e., local veterinarians, shrine staff, monkey
hospital staff, monkey festival organizers, local people, NGO representatives,
and the local monkey management committee (the “Monkey Foundation”)
representative. People chosen for interviews were sought out using snowball
sampling in order to get information from people with high involvement in the
