Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 2.6.
Local name and conflicts of long-tailed macaque
Conflicts and threats
Damage
crop
Hunting
Eating
Trade
Region
Ethnicity
Local Name
Rakhine
Rakhine,
Chin, Bamar
de-kyin-myauk
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Bago Yoma
Bamar,
Kayin
myauk-ta-nga
No
Yes
Yes
No
Ayeyarwady
Delta
Bamar,
Kayin
myauk-ta-nga
No
No
No
No
North
Tanintharyi
Mon, Kayin,
Bamar
myauk-mie-
shay
Yes
No
No
Yes
South
Tanintharyi
Dawei,
Myeik
za-yet-taw-
myauk
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Hunting long-tailed macaques for food and trade was observed in the Rakhine
and southern Tanintharyi regions (
Table 2.6
), hunters use snare, bow with
poisoned arrows or gun (fusil). Two wildlife meat restaurants in the Rakhine
region and four in southern Tanintharyi region were found. In these restaurants,
myauk-chay-kha (cooked monkey's meat and digestive tract) is a popular meal
for local people. Monkeys (macaques and langurs) were sold at the price of
15,000 kyats (equivalent to $15 USD) by restaurants in Tanintharyi. In the
southern part of Tanintharyi, hunting pressure on long-tailed macaques appears
heavy for international trade, smuggling through Kawthaung to Ranong,
although neither the quantity of macaques traded nor the sources of the trading
were assessed.
In Tanintharyi, in 2004-2005, Chinese entrepreneurs ran monkey farms
to collect
M. fascicularis aurea
and 3,000 monkeys went through this facil-
ity in 2005 for export to China or to developed countries via China (Shwe
Pyi Thar Report,
2006
). They constructed cages, which they falsely called
“breeding sites” at the base of Pa-htaw-taung hill (Site No.93). They pur-
chased long-tailed macaques at 5,000 kyats to 20,000 kyats (about $5 to
$20 USD) per individual from villagers around the Myeik Archipelago.
According to interview, at least 1,000 long-tailed macaques were exported
during 2005 and 2006. However, the Forest Ministry of Myanmar banned
this trade in 2006 (Myanmar Wildlife Protection Law, 1994). The Chinese
company abandoned its business and released macaques at Shin-ma-kan
mangrove forest (Site No. 94) and Thandar Island in 2006. In the present
study, a troop of semi-wild long-tailed macaques (40-50 individuals) was
found in site No. 94.
