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Project Noah Nature School
Macaca fascicularis
Common macaque of South-east Asia, this was a group of about 16 individuals ranging from very young still clinging to mother's front to the mature adults which are about 2 feet tall in sitting position. The young have a dark black patch on the top of their head, see photo 2! Their long tail is one of the things that distinguishes them from another macaque of the area, the Pig-tailed Macaque.
This family group was ranging in the rainforest along the side of the road and coming out to feed on whatever offerings they could get from the road. It is in a national park close to Sihanoukville and during tourist season, they are offered lots of food. This species is also fed extensively by the monks at the pagodas in Cambodia, and they have been living in close proximity to human habitation for a many centuries. They are still "wild" but have learned to take from people what they can get.
I enjoyed learning a bit about the matrilineal family group of these Macaques on Wiki. Not sure how accurate this info is but really interesting including a study about how grooming reinforces the bonding between individuals. Photo 4 shows an adult grooming its young. The fence that is seen in some of the photos of this group was a fence along the side of the road that they swung over with ease to come and check us out!
Spotted on Oct 6, 2014
Submitted on Oct 7, 2014
2 Comments
Thanks Ava!
Sweet pictures and nice notes.