Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
adequately assess how land use and utilization of macaques as a resource are
affecting their population levels.
Long-tailed macaques have been regarded as a “weed species,” (Richard
et al
.,
1989
), meaning that they are resistant to habitat deterioration, live near or
inside human settlements, and easily exploit resources from these settlements.
Therefore, it is possible that long-tailed macaques will become more weed-
like as destruction of natural forest habitat continues, and human development
expands. This will place these macaques into a vulnerable position, because
although they can exploit human habitat, their continued existence in regions
where they live sympatrically with humans will depend on the attitude of
humans towards macaques. If the human communities become intolerant of
macaques, they could begin to exterminate local populations, and this type
of population pressure may have already begun in Myanmar. Consequently,
studies are needed to assess how living near human settlements are impacting
macaque populations in Myanmar.
In this study, we have surveyed Myanmar to assess the distribution and status
of the long-tailed macaque population. Since 2004 we have been conducting
interviews and have carried out pet observations as well as direct field obser-
vation. In this manuscript, we report the preliminary results of our research.
Long-tailed macaques were found in Rakhine, Ayeyarwady Delta, Bago Yoma,
and Tanintharyi Biogeographical regions in Myanmar, and we described the
present status and estimate population of long-tailed macaques in each of these
regions.
Materials and methods
Study region and interviews
Based on factors of physical geography, rainfall, and forest cover (FAO,
1985
),
Myanmar is divided into ten biogeographic regions, and we travelled through
seven of these between July 2004 and March 2009 to assess the presence or
absence of long-tailed macaques (
Figure 2.1
). In these regions, we interviewed
380 local people in 184 of villages along the highways and seven protected
areas. In villages, we identified either the head of each village or persons who
knew the forests and wildlife and could describe the presence and abundance
of non-human primates. Photographs illustrating the typical morphology of
the species were shown to the participants, so they could identify which spe-
cies they had observed in the region. We recorded the following information
at each location where we conducted interviews: address of the village, the
geographical coordinates (latitude, longitude) and altitude with GPS (Global
