Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
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Figure 6.3. Population size history at Padangtegal. 1986-1992 data from
Wheatley (1999); 1998-2002 data from Fuentes
et al
. (this chapter), 2003 data
from Loudon
et al
. (2006), 2007 unpublished data from management staff.
the management style at Padangtegal can both explain the reasons behind
this growth.
Ranging:
The range of the population slightly increased over time.
Our assessment in 2009 revealed that macaques used about 30 hectares of
area while Fuentes
et al
. reported 24.3 hectares were used in 1998-2002.
The local committee under the direction of Pak Wayan Selamet (i.e., the
director) actively carried out a program of re-planting trees in order to
increase the space and food resources available to macaques. However,
this practice was limited by the presence of fields and human infrastructure
surrounding the Monkey Forest. The high demographic growth combined
with the small range increase led to a population density that was twice
as high in 2009 (16.6 macaques per hectare) than in 2002 (8.4 macaques
per hectare). During this study, we observed that macaque groups were
raiding crops in surrounding fields at an average frequency of 0.7 raids per
day. Although Fuentes
et al
. did not supply data on crop-raiding frequency
for the 1998-2002 period, the management committee (pers. comm.)
reported that the introduction of guards at the edges of the Monkey Forest
has been effective in decreasing the frequency of crop raiding episodes.
Activity Pattern:
The time budget of the macaque population appeared
similar over time. The frequency and the diversity of the macaques' inter-
actions with humans remained as reported for the 1998-2002 period.
Macaques at Padangtegal spent 1.5 percent of their time budget manipulat-
ing objects and the “stone play” behavior was the most common of these
activities. As already reported by Fuentes
et al.
immature males were more
frequently involved in object manipulation than other age/sex classes.
