Population, Social Organization And Behaviors Of Macaca Fascicularis In Penang Botanical Gardens Penang, Malaysia
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Date
2011-01
Authors
Karimullah
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract
The population, social organization, general behaviours and mating behaviours of the species Macaca fascicularis have not been studied extensively previously in Penang, Malaysia. Thus this study was conducted on 1134 animals in 2007 in the Penang Botanical Gardens to consolidate these parameters. The major focus of the work was on the daily activity budgets, in terms of scan and focal sampling during all the months in the study, Of the daily activity budget, moving (15%) was found out to be the most frequent activity, The other parameters studied were eating (13%), running (11%), vocal (8%), cleaning hair (7%), fighting (4%), attacking (4%), playing (4%) and sex (2%) all these were found significant, while jumping (6%), resting (6%), opening mouth (5%), climbing (5%), itching (5%), baby care (2%), feeding (2%) and snatching (1%) were found non significant. The social organization of the animals was also taken into account and it was observed that the alpha males depicted dominance for fighting, sex, shaking branches, moving, grooming received, attacking and protection as compared to the beta males. Furthermore, the male and female social relationships were also assessed and compared to the other members of the group. A study of the population was conducted and it was found that of the member’s adult males (193), adult females (252), juveniles (635) and infants (54) the proportion of the juveniles was the highest. Furthermore, it was found that the number of adult females was higher than the adult males. These parameters were also studied with respect to the locations in the garden; it was found that these animals prefer proximity to human environments since they have learned to associate them as a food source. The mating behaviour was also studied for the males and the female and it was found that the attempts to approach the partner, mounting on the partner, grooming for sex, inspection of the genetalia and agonistic interaction were higher in the male and the attempts to refuse, reach back, presentation of the ano-genital region and vocal calls during copulation were higher in females. Furthermore, eye contact, ejaculation, penis grooming, grooming of the female, aggression towards the female, was higher in the male and vaginal grooming, yawning, self scratching and teeth grinding were higher in the female. Homosexuality and masturbation was also observed and it was found that the sexual activity remains uniform through out the day. Furthermore, it was found that the mating system of Macaca fascicularis is polygamous and polyandrous.
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Keywords
The population, social organization, general behaviours , and mating behaviours of the species Macaca fascicularis