Bear macaque
The stump-tailed macaque (Macaca arctoides ), also called the bear macaque, is a species of macaque native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. In India, it occurs south of the Brahmaputra River, in the northeastern part of the country. Its range in India extends from Assam and Meghalaya to eastern Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.
It is primarily frugivorous, but eats many types of vegetation, such as seeds, leaves and roots, but also hunts freshwater crabs, frogs, bird eggs and insects.
Stump-tailed macaques have long, thick, dark brown fur that covers their body, except for face and their short almost invisible tail. Infants are born white and darken as they mature. As they age, their bright pink or red faces darken to brown or nearly black and lose most of their hair. Males in this species are larger than females and their canine teeth, which are important for establishing dominance within social groups, are more elongated than those of the females. Stump-tailed macaques have cheek pouches and store food for short periods of time.
Stump-tailed macaques are found in South and Southeast Asia. They are distributed from northeastern India and southern China into the northwest tip of West Malaysia on the Malay Peninsula. They are also found in Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Stump-tailed macaques live in subtropical and tropical broadleaf evergreen forests, in different elevations depending on the amount of rainfall in the area. They depend on rainforests for food and shelter and don't occur in dry forests.
Stump-tailed macaques are arboreal and terrestrial. They are more agile on the ground. These macaques are active during the day spending their time foraging and storing collected food in their cheek pouches. Stump-tailed macaques are very social and live in groups of up to 50-60 individuals. These groups consist of adult males, females, and young. Females stay in their natal groups and males leave after sexual maturity. These macaques are hierarchical and establish the rank in hierarchy through biting and slapping. However, they are not agressive and are peaceful creatures. Stump-tailed macaques communicate visually and vocally. Common visual signs are "teeth chattering", "lip smacking" and "barred teeth". Vocal sounds include the "coo" sound to stay in contact with others, grunts and alpha males "roar" to chase off predators.
Stump-tailed macaques are primarily frugivorous, but they eat many types of vegetation, such as seeds, leaves, and roots. They may also hunt freshwater crabs, frogs, bird eggs and insects.
Stump-tailed macaques are polygynandrous (promiscuous), which means that both males and females have multiple mates during the mating season. These animals breed in October and November. Females give birth to a single infant every 2 years. The gestation period last around 177 days. After birth, the mother nurses and protects her infant for 9 months. All females in the group care for the young of other females. They play, carry, play, protect, and groom the infants. Alpha males also help protect young and infants. After weaning the infants is still dependent on the mother and other adults in the group. It will become independent at around 1.5 years of age. Young females reach reproductive maturity at 4 years of age while males become mature at around 4.5-5 years.
One of the main threats to Stump-tailed macaques is the destruction of their habitat due to fragmentation, soil erosion, logging, a collection of timber and firewood for charcoal, building roads, dams, power lines, fisheries and due to fires. These macaques also suffer from hunting and are traded for food, sport, and traditional “medicine”. There is also accidental mortality due to trapping. These animals are also locally traded for bones, meat and as pets.
According to the IUCN Red List, the total population size of the Stump-tailed macaque is unknown. However, there is an estimated population of the species in China consisting of 3,500 individuals. Currently Stump-tailed macaques are classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are decreasing.
Due to their frugivory diet, these animals act as important seed dispersers of their forest habitat.
