Biology Reference
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macaques, and where access was possible. Most surveys were conducted in
the northeastern and central regions (134 and 78 Tambons). Via the ground
checking at 340 Tambons, we found that local people misidentified long-tailed
macaques as other macaque species. The frequency and nature of misidentifica-
tion varied between regions. In all five regions, mainly in the northeastern and
central regions, long-tailed macaques were particularly misidentified as rhesus
macaques and occasionally as pig-tailed macaques. Only one location in the
northeast, at Wat Pa Sila Wiwek, Mukdahan Province, long-tailed macaques
were misidentified as Assamese macaques.
Of the 340 Tambons surveyed, we found long-tailed macaques at 100
locations (the location is used instead of Tambon hereafter, because in some
Tambons long-tailed macaques were seen in more than one location) which
ranged from the lower northern and northeastern ( ca . 16° 30' N) to the south-
ernmost part ( ca . 6° 20' N) of Thailand (Malaivijitnond and Hamada, 2008 ;
Malaivijitnond et al ., 2009 ) ( Table 5.2 ). In many locations, the population
had several troops (two to five troops). The most frequently encountered sub-
species was M. f. fascicularis , at 97 of the 100 locations visited. M. f. aurea
was found at only three locations of Ranong Province 9° 35-57'N: Koh
Piak Nam Yai and Koh Tao; Ngoa Mangrove Research Center; Wat Paknam
Pracharangsarith (Malaivijitnond and Hamada, 2008 ). The habitat types at
those three locations are mangrove forests or islands located on the Andaman
sea coast.
Based on our field survey, the distribution maps of long-tailed macaques
and other four species of macaques in Thailand were drawn in comparison
with those of the questionnaire survey and the previous report of Lekagul and
McNeely ( 1988 ) ( Figure 5.3 ). One hundred, nineteen, twelve, eleven and nine
locations were observed for long-tailed, rhesus, pig-tailed, stump-tailed and
Assamese macaques, respectively. Comparing their distributions between three
sources of information, they are similar, except for rhesus macaques where the
distribution based on questionnaire survey is throughout Thailand. The distri-
bution pattern of long-tailed macaques was similar to that described 30 - 40
years ago (Lekagul and McNeely, 1988 ), however, their habitats had changed
greatly from natural forests to the recreational parks or temples close to human
settlements. They can adapt well to disturbed habitats and some refer to them
as a “weed species” (Richard et al ., 1989 ). At 100 locations visited, 57 loca-
tions were temples. Most temples visited were near forests or limestone hills.
This suggests that the majority of the population of Thai long-tailed macaques
is now at least partly dependent on the limited sanctuary provided by Buddhist
temples.
Living in the temple complexes, vegetation for foraging is often sparse and
they are utterly dependent on provisioning. Through provisioning, lack of
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