Long-Tailed Macaque: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Monkeys and Lemurs · day 3 of 7

Five facts

1. No other old-world monkey is known to use stone tools to find food every day. In some tourist spots, they even steal and barter.
2. The name crab-eating macaque comes from sightings of it hunting for crabs along beaches.
3. The long-tailed macaque's tail is as long as its head and body combined.
4. Long-tailed macaque groups are matrilineal, from ten to eighty-five members. Females stay for life, while males leave before age seven.
5. Where their range meets that of the rhesus macaque, the two species interbreed and produce fertile offspring.

The quiz

1. What do long-tailed macaques use in daily foraging?

• Stone tools (correct)
• Fishing nets
• Wooden spears
• Bamboo traps

No other old-world monkey is known to use stone tools to forage every day.

2. How did the crab-eating macaque get its name?

• It eats only crabs
• It lives in crab-shaped caves
• It has claw-like hands
• It was seen foraging on beaches for crabs (correct)

It got the name after people saw it searching beaches for crabs.

3. How long is the long-tailed macaque's tail?

• Half its body length
• Twice its body length
• As long as its head and body combined (correct)
• Barely a few centimetres

Its tail is as long as its head and body put together.

4. At what age do male long-tailed macaques leave their birth group?

• Never, they stay for life
• Before age seven (correct)
• At exactly age ten
• After age fifteen

Males leave their birth group before age seven while females stay for life.

5. What happens where long-tailed and rhesus macaque ranges meet?

• They interbreed, producing fertile offspring (correct)
• They avoid each other completely
• They only compete for food
• Their offspring are sterile

The two species interbreed and produce fertile offspring.

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