Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
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Macaques
Long-tailed macaques are sometimes called
crab-eating macaques, as they take crabs in the
coastal forest. Local people consider this maca-
que terribly greedy, since it stuffs huge
amounts of food into its cheek pouches. When
no more food is available or no more can be
ingested, it will punch the food into its gullet
by pushing its cheeks with a clenched fist.
Malaysians say these macaques are easy to
catch. They will drill a small hole in a coconut
and put a sweet banana inside. When the mac-
aque discovers the banana, it reaches into the
coconut to grab it. Refusing to let go of its
prize, the monkey's hand is stuck inside of the
coconut, making them easy to capture. Pig-
tailed macaques are often caught and trained
to pick coconuts. Once trained, the macaque
will climb the tree and drop coconuts to its
caretaker, who will collect them and bring
them to market. A strong, mature macaque is
able to harvest up to 700 coconuts in one day.
Macaques are the favorite food of the Monkey
Eagle in the Philippines.
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Primates in the Old World monkey and ba-
boon family are found in abundance in the Asian-
Pacific rainforest. The family is broken up into
two groups, the cercopithecids that have cheek
pouches and simple stomachs, and the colobines,
which do not have cheek pouches and have more
complex stomachs that give them the ability to
survive on a diet of mainly leaves. Macaques are
common cercopithecids. Most live in Southeast
Asia and tropical India (see Plate XII). Macaques
are primarily diurnal and can agilely move long
distances through the trees, although they do
spend time foraging on the forest floor. They tend
to be vegetarians, feeding on fruits, berries, leaves,
buds, seeds, flowers, and bark, although some will
eat insects, eggs, and small vertebrates.
Langurs and leaf monkeys are diurnal, arbo-
real primates. They are small and slender with
long tails and arms. Their fingers are strongly
developed, but their thumbs are small. They have
unique digestive systems that allow them to exist
on a diet almost entirely of leaves. Langurs tend
to be territorial and travel in groups of 5-15. They
are often hunted for food, and several species are
highly threatened or endangered.
Proboscis monkeys are famous for the males'
long and pendulous noses. Proboscis monkeys are
found on Borneo in the rainforest near water or in mangrove swamps. They are
most active during the afternoon, eating mainly leaves, fruits, and flowers. Probos-
cis monkeys are the best swimmers among the primates. They are endangered due
to forest destruction and the clearing of mangrove swamps.
Gibbons are common in West Malesian rainforests. Gibbons are similar to
great apes in that they lack a tail and have similar dentition. However, gibbons are
smaller and slender and have long arms and long canine teeth. They are considered
''lesser apes.'' Gibbons swing from branches as they travel through the forest. They
are upright walkers on tree limbs and on the ground. They typically walk with their
arms held high for balance. Gibbons are mostly diurnal, are territorial, and travel
in family groups. The crested, white-handed, dark-headed, silvery-capped, gray,
white-brown, and Kloss's gibbons are small and extremely agile. They eat mostly
fruit, but take leaves, eggs, and small vertebrates to supplement their diet.
The siamang is the largest gibbon. It lives in the higher elevations of the rainfor-
ests of Sumatra and Malaysia. Siamangs differ from other gibbons in size and
appearance. They have black hair and are the most arboreal of all Asian-Pacific
