Introduction

Macaques are the only type of monkey found in Wallacea. Seven species are endemic to Sulawesi including the Sulawesi macaque, Macaca nigra, and the Moor Macaque, Macaca maura.

Behaviour and ecology

Like most primates, macaques display high degrees of social behaviour. They live in groups, which are dominated by females. Grooming is common between individuals in a group. Macaques communicate by vocals calls and by facial expressions. They sleep and forage in trees but also spend a lot of time on the ground. Macaques mainly eat fruit, but also insects, and can store food in their cheek pouches to be consumed away from the foraging site. When females reach sexual maturity their rear ends swell up and turn a brighter pink colour, which signals to males that they are sexually receptive. Females give birth to one infant per pregnancy, usually in spring when food is abundant. Infants are carried on their mothers chest. Macaques can live for up to 18 years.

Threats

The Sulawesi and Moor macaque are considered as endangered. They are threatened with hunting and habitat loss arising from expanding human populations and cpnversion to agricultural land. They are hunted for meat, and also as a pest, as they can damage crops. Subsistence and commercial hunting for markets in north occurs in north sulawesi. Macaques are also caught for pets. There are only thought to be around 1000 Moor macaques left on Sulawesi.

Sulawesi macaque

The Sulawesi macaque is endemic to a North East Sulawesi. Tangkoko-batuangas-Duasudara Nature Reserve may contain the last viable population. The forest here has been reduced to half its original size due to conversion to coconut farms. During the 1980s and 1990s, populations declined by 75% over a 15 year period in the nature reserve, and have been declining since. The Sulawesi macaque is also found on the island of Bacan, off the South West coast of Sulawesi. Populations are abundant on this island and less at threat from human activities. Bacan contains the largest wild population of this species and is therefore important for conservation. The macaque could become extinct in 25-50 years in Tangkoko-batuangas-Duasudara Nature Reserve if trends continue.

Conservation

International trade of macaques is illegal. To prevent further declines in population numbers, existing laws protecting macaques need to be strengthened. However, laws regarding hunting and land clearance are difficult to enforce in protected areas. Captive breeding has been successful in some zoos, such as jersey zoo where animals are exchanged with those found in European zoos to maintain genetic diversity. A local conservation awareness campaign was set up in 1996 in northern Sulawesi to teach local inhabitants the value of native wildlife such as macaques. Distribution and abundance of less well known macaque species is also required to monitor population declines in Sulawesi, as well as more information about their habitat and ecology to assist conservation efforts.