User:Nickita Aurore/Moor macaque

Moor macaque (Macaca maura)
Moor macaque also known as Macaca maura is an old world monkey that is native to the Sulawesi Island, Indonesia [5] and highly distributed in the southern parts of the Sulawesi. With its light to dark brown fur, a short tail and a relatively large body, Moor macaque feeds on plants, insects but mainly, its diet consists of fruits[4]. Their body size varies between males and females where males measure 64-69cm while females measure 50-56 cm[4]. Moor macaques live in groups of 15-40 individuals [8],with female philopatry and male dispersal [6] and they are all diurnals and semi-terrestrial where they spend their time in trees foraging and on the ground travelling[4].

According to the Behavioural Data collection done on 2 groups of Moor macaques in the Bantimurung Bulusaraung National Park in South Sulawesi[8],their activity budget shows that this species spend most of their time feeding in places where food resources are abundant. The results also show that moor macaques tend to spend more time foraging as the group size increases as they spend less time in alertness.

The population of this species is highly endangered due to serious anthropogenic activities like agriculture which contribute to its habitat loss[6]. This species has been on the IUCN Red list of threatened species (A2cd) since 2015 and this is due to different human activities which continue to critically threaten the population of Moor Macaque[7]. Adequate conservation plans are being carried on through different studies in order to save the undomesticated Moor macaques.

Etymology
The Moor Macaque made its first appearance in western science through the work of Heinrich Rudolf Schinz in 1825( 1).Not much is known of the origin of this specie’s name due to it being endemic to Indonesia and due to its endangered state. The word “macaque” stems from the Portuguese word macaco(a) which in return stems from the West African language word (ma)Kaku, which translates to monkey(2). The origins of “moor” are more obscure and unknown. According to the Merriam webster dictionary, a Moor Macaque is a “large gray-legged black macaque (Macaca maura) of Sulawesi”(4) The key word in that definition is “black”. The word “moor” is defined as black or dark and the latter is a reference to the moors, a group of people that originate from Northern Africa(3).

Distribution and Habitat
The Indonesian island of Sulawesi hosts 7 species of macaques with one of them being the moor macaque. Unfortunately, the Moor macaque is endemic to the island and is considered to be endangered by the  IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (8).The Moor macaque is the only species of macaques that existed naturally in South Sulawesi(1).They can be found in lowland forests ,grasslands, limestone areas and even near humans(1).Those living near humans have been observed to be more present in areas where domestic animals are found, as these areas do not have a lot of traps that endanger them .They are predominantly found in the karst forest ecosystem of South Sulawesi(8). The karst plain forest is more resourceful for these macaques as the latter contains an abundance of food. Researchers discovered that out of the 107 identified tree species, 74 of them were macaque food species with the remaining being as key food species(8).The latter information was put together due to a study that took place in the Bantimurung Bulusaraung National Park and specifically in the Karaenta area, a former nature reserve(8).The karst tower forest is less useful for the macaques in terms of acquiring food or other related resources but acts as a natural refuge from human disturbance(8).Another important area with significant moor macaques is the Tabo-tabo forest in Pangkep and is considered to be a secondary forest area. The home range for primates is characterised by three factors; food availability, the distribution of the food, and the interval of changing fruit seasons(1).The Tabo-tabo forest is characterised as a secondary lowland forest and the latter created a suitable environment for the growth of plants on fertile alluvial and Mediterranean red soils(1).The high diversity of plants and shelter provision in the area made the land extremely suitable for these macaques to thrive(1).

Behavior
Moor macaques are a male dispersing species. Males leave the groups in which they are born between the ages of 7 and 9, while females stay in their birth groups. Moor macaques groups have been observed to be tolerant and not very aggressive.

Sexual Behavior
Perineal swelling is an important factor in the sexual life of moor macaques. As this species does not have a marked reproductive season, not all females swell at the same time. Females start to swell between the age of 4 and 6 and have their first child between the age of 6 and 7. Swelling individuals are more likely mounted by the males than non-swelling ones. The dominant and oldest female of the group is usually mounted by the alpha male. Non-alpha males only mount females when the alpha is out of sight and lower ranking males usually mount non-swelling females, although in most Moor macaque groups, there is only one male.