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but further research is needed to fully understand how sterilization affects
human-macaque conflict.
Additionally, it is important to document behavioral repercussions of repro-
duction control, as well as possible selective effects. For example, animals that
are easily captured are often those that are the most habituated and the least
aggressive to humans. Therefore, we need to consider how the removal of these
individuals might affect the genetic composition of subsequent generations of
synanthropic macaques (see Chapter 13). Another consideration is that steril-
ization may make females more assertive around people as they will be less
fearful without infants to carry and defend.
The human dimension
Managing human behavior at the human-macaque interface is critical. Human
behavior can unwittingly reinforce undesirable macaque behavior. For example,
feeding macaques reinforces their association that humans provide easy access
to food. Governmental support is vital to the regulation of no-feeding and/or
no-littering laws (Fuentes et al ., 2008 ; Sha et al ., 2009a , 2009b ). While the
presence of food significantly promotes macaque nuisance behaviors, reck-
less human behaviors (e.g., chasing, taunting, and throwing things) can result
in serious injury for humans and macaques (Mccarthy et al ., 2009 ; Sha et al .,
2009b ). Macaques frequently react aggressively to people who taunt, attempt
to repel, or throw objects at them. It is therefore important that we propose