The long-tailed macaques living at Uluwatu Temple in Bali, Indonesia, are famous for their frequent theft of tourists’ belongings in exchange for “ransom” in the form of food.
Long-tailed macaques, scientifically named Macaca fascicularis, also known as crab-eating macaques, belong to the Cercopithecidae family within the Primates order.
Long-tailed macaques are distributed across India, Myanmar, China, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines. In Vietnam, they are found throughout the country, from Thừa Thiên – Huế down to Kiên Giang.
Long-tailed macaques in Bali often steal tourists’ belongings for food.
These macaques have fur that ranges from gray to reddish-brown, with lighter fur on their bellies. Their head fur grows backward and often forms a crest, while their faces are pink. Adult males typically have two tufts of white fur on each side of their mouths that resemble whiskers. Newborns are black, and they possess long, fur-covered tails that are nearly as long as or longer than their bodies. They are the longest-tailed species.
Long-tailed macaques inhabit primary and secondary rainforests, bamboo forests, open forests, riverbanks, coastal areas, and mangrove forests. Their diet mainly consists of fruits, seeds, plant shoots, leaves, as well as other plant and animal parts such as insects and frogs.
They are diurnal and primarily arboreal. This species is an excellent swimmer and often jumps into the water from tree branches. The dominant male typically marks territory less than other monkey species. Young macaques in the group often play with each other, but as they mature, they play less. They usually live in groups of 10 to 100 individuals, with solitary individuals being rare. The troop structure consists of multiple males and females, averaging one male for every 2.5 females.
Long-tailed macaques have a gestation period of 160 to 170 days, with a reproductive interval of 13 months (ranging from 12 to 24 months). They reach maturity at 50 to 51 months, with a lifespan of 37 to 38 years.
Long-tailed macaques have been included in Vietnam’s Red Book and are listed among species that require protection by the forestry sector.
