Abstract
Long-tailed macaques commonly live near human settlements in Southeast Asia and Singapore is one example of such an interface. In 2011 and 2012, we conducted a census for Singapore’s National Parks Board (NParks), during which we collected behavioral, demographic, and ranging data. We used these data to examine how the presence of humans and access to human food related to changes in the macaques’ time budget, ranging behavior, and group size. We found that human presence was associated with decreased traveling rates, decreased arboreality, increased terrestriality, and increased use of human-made substrates. In particular, access to human food was associated with larger macaque group sizes, decreased arboreality, and increased use of human-made structures. Our results demonstrate how living near humans in an intensely urban habitat impacts macaques. Perhaps with better knowledge of how humans affect urban macaques, we can better plan management strategies to mitigate conflict. We discuss some nonlethal strategies for managing Singapore’s human–macaque interface that could potentially reduce human–macaque conflict. Specifically, we recommend consistent enforcement of an existing feeding ban, the employment of security guards to mitigate conflict in particularly problematic areas, and the expansion of existing education programs for local people and tourists.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Aggimarangsee, N. (1992). Survey for semi-tame colonies of macaques in Thailand. Natural History Bulletin of the Siam Society, 40, 103–166.
Altmann, J. (1974). Observational study of behavior: Sampling methods. Behaviour, 49, 227–267.
Ang, Y. (2010, October 21). Don’t turn tail, get to know them instead; Guided walks to help residents, visitors cope with monkeys at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com
BBC News. (2010, October 7). Malaysian baby killed by macaque monkey. BBC News (London). Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11490575.
Beisner, B. A., Heagerty, A., Seil, S. K., Balasubramaniam, K. N., Atwill, E. R., Gupta, B. K., et al. (2014). Human-wildlife conflict: Proximate predictors of aggression between humans and rhesus macaques in India. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 156(2), 286–294.
Berman, C. M., Matheson, M. D., Li, J.-H., Ogawa, H., & Ionica, C. S. (2014). Tourism, infant mortality and stress indicators among Tibetan macaques at Huangshan, China. In A. E. Russon & J. Wallis (Eds.), Primate tourism: A tool for conservation? (pp. 21–43). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Chapman, C. A., & Rothman, J. M. (2009). Within-species differences in primate social structure: Evolution of plasticity and phylogenetic constraints. Primates, 50(1), 12–22.
Chauhan, A., & Pirta, R. S. (2010). Socio-ecology of two species of non-human primates, rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) and Hanuman langur (Semnopithecus entellus), in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Journal of Human Ecology, 30(3), 171–177.
Chopra, P. K., Seth, S., & Seth, P. K. (1992). Behavioural profile of free-ranging rhesus monkeys. Primate Report, 32, 75–105.
Dudgeon, D., & Corlett, R. (1994). Hills and streams: An ecology of Hong Kong. Hong Kong, China: Hong Kong University Press.
Ee, D. (2013, October 9). No monkeying around with ACRES rescue team; It seeks to help residents keep macaques away without culling them. Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com.
Epstein, J. H., & Price, J. T. (2009). The significant but understudied impact of pathogen transmission from humans to animals. The Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine, 76(5), 448–455.
Fa, J. E. (1992). Visitor-directed aggression among the Gibraltar macaques. Zoo Biology, 11(1), 43–52.
Feng, Z. (2011, October 7). Forest walk at HortPark: Attacks spark hunt for monkey. Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com.
Feng, Z. (2013, March 11). More reports on animal cases to AVA; Spike of about 20% from 2011 to last year comes as 24-hour hotline starts. Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com.
Feng, Z. (2015, April 6). Only a minority of Singaporeans want stray animals to be culled: Survey. Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com.
Fooden, J. (2000). Systematic review of the rhesus macaque, Macaca mulatta (Zimmermann, 1780). Zoology New Series, 96, i–180.
Fuentes, A. (2006). Human culture and monkey behavior: Assessing the contexts of potential pathogen transmission between macaques and humans. American Journal of Primatology, 68, 880–896.
Fuentes, A. (2010). Naturalcultural encounters in Bali: Monkeys, temples, tourists, and ethnoprimatology. Cultural Anthropology, 25(4), 600–624.
Fuentes, A. (2013). Pets, property, and partners: Macaques as commodities in the human-other primate interface. In S. Radhakrishna, M. A. Huffman, & A. Sinha (Eds.), The macaque connection: Cooperation and conflict between humans and macaques (pp. 149–166). New York: Springer.
Fuentes, A., & Gamerl, S. (2005). Disproportionate participation by age/sex classes in aggressive interactions between long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) and human tourists at Padangtegal Monkey Forest, Bali, Indonesia. American Journal of Primatology, 66(2), 197–204.
Fuentes, A., Kalchik, S., Gettler, L., Kwiatt, A., Konecki, M., & Jones-Engel, L. (2008). Characterizing human-macaque interactions in Singapore. American Journal of Primatology, 70(9), 879–883.
Fuentes, A., Southern, M., & Suaryana, K. G. (2005). Monkey forests and human landscapes: Is extensive sympatry sustainable for Homo sapiens and Macaca fascicularis in Bali? In J. Patterson & J. Wallis (Eds.), Commensalism and conflict: The primate-human interface (pp. 168–195). Norman, OK: American Society of Primatology.
Gumert, M. D. (2011). The common monkey of Southeast Asia: Long-tailed macaque populations, ethnophoresy, and their occurrence in human environments. In M. D. Gumert, A. Fuentes, & L. Jones-Engel (Eds.), Monkeys on the edge: Ecology and management of long-tailed macaques and their interface with humans (pp. 3–44). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Gumert, M. D., Hamada, Y., & Malaivijitnond, S. (2013). Human activity negatively affects stone tool-using Burmese long-tailed macaques Macaca fascicularis aurea in Laem Son National Park, Thailand. Oryx, 47(04), 535–543.
Hsu, M. J., Kao, C.-C., & Agoramoorthy, G. (2009). Interactions between visitors and Formosan macaques (Macaca cyclopis) at Shou-Shan Nature Park, Taiwan. American Journal of Primatology, 71(3), 214–222.
Imam, E., & Yahya, H. S. A. (2001). Management of monkey problem in Aligarh Muslim University Campus, Uttar Pradesh. Zoos’ Print Journal, 17(1), 685–687.
Jaman, M. F., & Huffman, M. A. (2013). The effect of urban and rural habitats and resource type on activity budgets of commensal rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) in Bangladesh. Primates, 54, 49–59.
Jones-Engel, L., Engel, G. A., Gumert, M. D., & Fuentes, A. (2011). Developing sustainable human-macaque communities. In M. D. Gumert, A. Fuentes, & L. Jones-Engel (Eds.), Monkeys on the edge: Ecology and management of long-tailed macaques and their interface with humans (pp. 295–327). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Jones-Engel, L., Engel, G. A., Heidrich, J., Chalise, M., Poudel, N., Viscidi, R., et al. (2006). Temple monkeys and health implications of commensalism, Kathmandu, Nepal. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 12(6), 900–906.
Jones-Engel, L., Engel, G. A., Schillaci, M. A., Rompis, A., Putra, A., Suaryana, K. G., et al. (2005). Primate-to-human retroviral transmission in Asia. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 11(7), 1028–1035.
Kamilar, J. M., & Baden, A. L. (2014). What drives flexibility in primate social organization? Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 68, 1677–1692.
Khew, C (2014, October 23) Monkey see, monkey do as the guard says? Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com.
Klegarth, A. R. (in press). Measuring movement: How remote telemetry facilitates our understanding of the human-macaque interface. In K. Dore, E. Riley, & A. Fuentes (Eds.), Ethnoprimatology: A practical guide to research on the human-nonhuman primate interface (Chapter 8). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Knight, J. (2011). Herding monkeys to paradise: How macaque troops are managed for tourism in Japan. Portland, OR: Brill Academic.
Lane, K. E., Lute, M., Rompis, A., Wandia, I. N., Putra, I. G. A. A., Hollocher, H., & Fuentes, A. (2010). Pests, pestilence, and people: The long-tailed macaque and its role in the cultural complexities of Bali. In S. Gursky-Doyen & J. Supriatna (Eds.), Indonesian primates (pp. 235–248). New York: Springer.
Lane-deGraaf, K. E., Fuentes, A., & Hollocher, H. (2014). Landscape genetics reveal fine-scale boundaries in island populations of Indonesian long-tailed macaques. Landscape Ecology, 29(9), 1505–1519.
Lee, B. P. Y.-H., & Chan, S. (2011). Lessons and challenges in the management of long-tailed macaques in urban Singapore. In M. D. Gumert, A. Fuentes, & L. Jones-Engel (Eds.), Monkeys on the edge: Ecology and management of long-tailed macaques and their interface with humans (pp. 307–313). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Li, C., Zhao, C., & Fan, P.-F. (2015). White-cheeked macaque (Macaca leucogenys): A new macaque species from Modog, southeastern Tibet. American Journal of Primatology, 77(7), 753–766.
Lucas, P. W., & Corlett, R. T. (1998). Seed dispersal by long-tailed macaques. American Journal of Primatology, 45(1), 29–44.
Malaivijitnond, S., & Hamada, Y. (2008). Current situation and status of long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) in Thailand. Natural History Journal of Chulalongkorn University, 8(2), 185–204.
Mallapur, A. (2013). Macaque tourism: Implications for their management and conservation. In S. Radhakrishna, M. A. Huffman, & A. Sinha (Eds.), The macaque connection: Cooperation and conflict between humans and macaques (pp. 149–166). New York: Springer.
Muehlenbein, M. P., Martinez, L. A., Lemke, A. A., Ambu, L., Nathan, S., Alsisto, S., & Sakong, R. (2010). Unhealthy travelers present challenges to sustainable primate ecotourism. Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, 8(3), 169–175.
Nahallage, C. A. D., & Huffman, M. A. (2013). Macaque-human interactions in past and present-day Sri Lanka. In S. Radhakrishna, M. A. Huffman, & A. Sinha (Eds.), The macaque connection: Cooperation and Conflict between humans and macaques (pp. 135–148). New York: Springer.
Nahallage, C. A. D., Huffman, M. A., Kuruppu, N., & Weerasingha, T. (2008). Diurnal primates in Sri Lanka and people’s perception of them. Primate Conservation, 23(1), 81–87.
National Parks Board, Singapore. (2008). Tougher measure against monkey feeding. Retrieved May 16, 2015, from https://www.nparks.giv.sg/cms/index.php?option=com_news&task=view&id=55&Itemid=50.
National Parks Board, Singapore. (2009). Central Catchment Nature Reserve. Retrieved May 16, 2015, from https://www.nparks.gov.sg/gardens-parks-and-nature/parks-and-nature-reserves/central-catchment-nature-reserve.
National Population and Talent Division. (2013). A sustainable population for a dynamic Singapore: Population white paper. http://population.sg/whitepaper/downloads/population-white-paper.pdf.
Peterson, J. V., & Riley, E. P. (2013). Monyet yang dihargai, monyet yang dibenci: The human-macaque interface in Indonesia. In S. Radhakrishna, M. A. Huffman, & A. Sinha (Eds.), The macaque connection: Cooperation and Conflict between humans and macaques (pp. 149–166). New York: Springer.
Richard, A. F., Goldstein, S. J., & Dewar, R. E. (1989). Weed macaques: The evolutionary implications of macaque feeding ecology. International Journal of Primatology, 10(6), 569–594.
Riley, C. M., Jayasri, S. L., & Gumert, M. D. (2013). Singapore macaque listing: 2012. Report to the National Parks Board, Singapore, Singapore.
Riley, C. M., Jayasri, S. L., & Gumert, M. D. (2015b). Results of a nationwide census of the long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) population of Singapore. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 63, 503–515.
Riley, C. M., Koenig, B. L., & Gumert, M. D. (2015a). Observation of a fatal dog attack on a juvenile long-tailed macaque in a human-modified environment in Singapore. Nature in Singapore, 8, 57–63.
Riley, E. P., & Priston, N. E. C. (2010). Macaques in farms and folklore: exploring the human nonhuman primate interface in Sulawesi, Indonesia. American Journal of Primatology, 71, 848–854.
Seth, P. K., Chopra, P. K., & Seth, S. (2001). Indian rhesus macaque: Habitat, ecology and activity patterns of naturally occurring populations. Envis Bulletin: Wildlife and Protected Areas, 1(1), 68–80.
Sha, J. C. M., Gumert, M. D., Lee, B. P. Y.-H., Jones-Engel, L., Chan, S., & Fuentes, A. (2009). Macaque-human interactions and the societal perceptions of macaques in Singapore. American Journal of Primatology, 71(10), 825–839.
Shek, C.-T. (2011). Management of nuisance macaques in Hong Kong. In M. D. Gumert, A. Fuentes, & L. Jones-Engel (Eds.), Monkeys on the edge: Ecology and management of long-tailed macaques and their interface with humans (pp. 297–301). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Sheng, Y. K. (2012). The challenges of promoting productive, inclusive, and sustainable urbanization. In Y. K. Sheng & M. Thuzar (Eds.), Urbanization in Southeast Asia: Issues & impacts. Singapore, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
Singapore Department of Statistics. (2015). Latest data. Singapore Department of Statistics. Retrieved April 12, 2015, from http://www.singstat.gov.sg/statistics/latest-data#14.
Singh, M., Kumara, H. N., Kumar, M. A., & Sharma, A. K. (2001). Behavioural responses of lion-tailed macaques (Macaca silenus) to a changing habitat in a tropical rain forest fragment in the Western Ghats, India. Folia Primatologica, 72, 278–291.
Singh, M., Singh, M., Kumar, M. A., Kumara, H. N., Sharma, A. K., & Kaumanns, W. (2002). Distribution, population structure, and conservation of lion-tailed macaques (Macaca silenus) in the Anaimalai Hills, Western Ghats, India. American Journal of Primatology, 57(2), 91–102.
Sinha, A. (2005). Not in their genes: Phenotypic flexibility, behavioural traits, and cultural evolution. Journal of Biosciences, 30, 51–64.
Sinha, A., & Mukhopadhyay, K. (2013). The monkey in the town’s commons, revisited: An anthropogenic history of the Indian bonnet macaque. In S. Radhakrishna, M. A. Huffman, & A. Sinha (Eds.), The macaque connection: Cooperation and conflict between humans and macaques (pp. 187–208). New York: Springer.
Sinha, A., Mukhopadhyay, K., Datta-Roy, A., & Ram, S. (2005). Ecology proposes, behaviour disposes: Ecological variability in social organization and male behavioural strategies among wild bonnet macaques. Current Science, 89(7), 1166–1179.
Southwick, C. H. (1972). Aggression among nonhuman primates. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Southwick, C. H., & Siddiqi, M. F. (2011). India’s rhesus populations: Protectionism versus conservation management. In M. D. Gumert, A. Fuentes, & L. Jones-Engel (Eds.), Monkeys on the edge: Ecology and management of long-tailed macaques and their interface with humans (pp. 275–292). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Thierry, B. (2007). Unity in diversity: Lessons from macaque societies. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 16(6), 224–238.
Wheatley, B. P. (1999). The sacred monkeys of Bali. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.
Wheatley, B. P. (2011). Ethnophoresy: The exotic macaques of Ngeaur Island, Republic of Palau. In M. D. Gumert, A. Fuentes, & L. Jones-Engel (Eds.), Monkeys on the edge: Ecology and management of long-tailed macaques and their interface with humans (pp. 252–272). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Wheatley, B. P., & Putra, D. K. H. (1994a). Biting the hand that feeds you: Monkeys and tourists in Balinese monkey forests. Tropical Biodiversity, 2, 317–327.
Wheatley, B. P., & Putra, D. K. H. (1994b). The effects of tourism on conservation at the monkey forest in Ubud, Bali. Revue d’Ecologie, 49(3), 245–257.
Zhao, Q.-K., & Deng, Z.-Y. (1992). Dramatic consequences of food handouts to Macaca thibetana at Mount Emei, China. Folia Primatologica, 58, 24–31.
Acknowledgments
This research was funded by a grant from the National Parks Board of Singapore (NParks). Nanyang Technological University provided administrative, technical, and logistical support. We would especially like to thank NParks staff Tuan Wah Wong, James Gan, Claire Su Ping Ng, William Ng, and Ping Ting Chew for offering logistical support. The authors would also like to thank Agustín Fuentes and Sophie Borthwick for assistance with this project, and Michel Waller for inviting and reviewing this manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Riley, C.M., DuVall-Lash, A.S., Jayasri, S.L., Koenig, B.L., Klegarth, A.R., Gumert, M.D. (2016). How Living Near Humans Affects Singapore’s Urban Macaques. In: Waller, M. (eds) Ethnoprimatology. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30469-4_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30469-4_16
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-30467-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-30469-4
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)