Pere David’s Macaque (Macaca thibetana)

MORPHOLOGY:
This species has cheek pouches to carry food in while it forages. The face is lacking in hair in a region comprising a narrow band beside the nose. The pelage has a brown color. The scrotum of the male is white to creamy-white in color.

RANGE:
Pere David’s macaque is found in the countries of China and Vietnam. This species lives in subtropical, deciduous, and broadleaf evergreen forests.

ECOLOGY:
Pere David’s macaque is a frugivorous species, but will also consume flowers, berries, seeds, leaves, stems, stalks, and invertebrates. This is a diurnal species. Pere David’s macaque prefers to sleep in caves.

LOCOMOTION:
Pere David’s macaque is a quadrupedal species (Fleagle, 1988).

SOCIAL BEHAVIOR:
Pere David’s macaque has a multimale-multifemale social system. Females remain in their natal group with the onset of maturity, but males will disperse shortly before adolescence. There is a hierarchical system amongst group members based upon the matriline. Subadult males mostly groom adult males. Most of the agonistic encounters occur amongst the females rather than the males. Males of the group tend to be involved in alloparental care.

VOCAL COMMUNICATION:
scream calls: This call is given by Pere David’s macaque when they approached by a non-group conspecific.

OLFACTORY COMMUNICATION:

VISUAL COMMUNICATION:
fear grimace: The lips are retracted so that the teeth are shown; the teeth are clenched together (Estes, 1991). This display functions as an appeasement signal to reduce aggression in aggressive encounters (Estes, 1991).

staring with open mouth: This is the stare accompanied by the mouth being open but the teeth are covered (Estes, 1991). This is a threat expression (Estes, 1991).

TACTILE COMMUNICATION:

REPRODUCTION:
Pere David’s macaque gives birth to a single offspring.

REFERENCES:
Burton, Frances. 1995. The Multimedia Guide to the Non-human Primates. Prentice-Hall Canada Inc.

Estes, R.D. 1991. The Behavior Guide to African Mammals. University of California Press.

Fleagle, John G. 1988. Primate Adaptation and Evolution. Academic Press.

Last Updated: October 9, 2003.
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