the assam macaque

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NON-HUMAN PRIMATE BEHAVIOUR STUDY

Submitted by:

ID NO. 100122270410

REG NO. 10012227214000410

YEAR: 2012-2013



TOPIC:

NON-HUMAN PRIMATE BEHAVIOUR STUDY

Submitted For

The partial fulfilment of

M.sc 1st semester examination

Course: 227104: PRACTICAL

West Bengal State University

Presented & Submitted by:

ID NO. 100122270410

REG NO. 10012227214000410

YEAR: 2012-2013



THE ASSAM MACAQUE

(Macaca assamensis)

The Assam macaque (Macaca assamensis) is a macaque of the old

world monkey family native to South and Southeast Asia. Since 2008,

the species is listed as Near Threatened by IUCN, as it is experiencing

significant declines due to hunting, habitat degradation and

fragmentation.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The Assam macaque has yellowish-grey to dark brown pelage.

The facial skin is dark brownish to purplish.

The head has a dark fringe of hair on the cheeks directed

backwards to the ears.

The hair on the crown is parted in the middle. Shoulders, head and arms tend to be paler than hindquarters,

which are greyish

The tail is well-haired and short.

Head-to-body-length measures 51 to 73.5 cm (20 to 28.9 in)

with a 15 to 30 cm (5.9 to 12 in) long tail. Adult weight is 5 to

10 kg (11 to22 lb).

Group sizes range from 10 to 50 individuals in the world. This is

a diurnal species.



DISTRIBUTION

The assamese macaque is found in the countries of Bangladesh,

Bhutan, Burma, Cambodia, China, Laos, Nepal, Thailand and

Vietnam. This species is found in various forest habitats throughout

its range, from montane forests to semideciduous forests. There is a

gap in the northeastern India between the two main population

pockets, specifically between central Bhutan and the south side of

the Brahmaputre River; the east bank of its upper course marks the

division between the two recognized subspecies.

The Eastern Assamese macaque, Macaca assamensis

assamensis, occurs in Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh,

Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and

Tripura in northeastern India, into northern mayanmar,

southeast through the Mayanmar- Thailand border

ranges as far as Chongkrong, to the upper Mekong in

Tibet, into the provinces of Guangxi, Guizhou, Tibet andYunnam in southweastern China, in Thateng in northern

Laos, and Hoi Xuan in northern Vietnam;

The Western Assamese macaque macaca assamensis

pelops, is found from central Nepal through Uttar

Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam and northernmost West Bengal in

northern India, into central Bhutan and the Sundarbans in

Bangladesh.

They are apparently absent from areas west of the

kaligandaki River. In India, they live in tropical and

subtropical semi-evergreen forests, dry deciduous and

montane forests, from the sea level to altitudes of 4,000

metres (13,000 ft). They usually inhabit hill areas above

1,000 m (3,300 ft), but in the wetter east they may occur



even in the lowlands and frequent areas that only

marginally reach this altitude. In Laos and Vietnam they

prefer high altitudes, usually above 500 m (1,600 ft.). In

forests on limestone karst, they occur in much lowerelevation.

MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURESMorphological variation within and among macaque species tends

to conform to ecogeographic patterns.

This species has cheek pouches to carry food in while

it forages

The average boddy mass for an adult male assamesemacaque is around 7 kilograms, and for the females it

is 5 kilograms.

This species has a short tail and there is no hair on the

face.

The pelage color ranges from dark to yellowish-

brown.



SOCIAL BEHAVIOR

Behaviour includes locomotion (running, jumping, walking and

climbing) and specifies of foraging behaviour. Socio-biological

principles give us the tools to objectively investigate these things,

but we should not be blinded by the perfection of the method. And

like most of these things, it is open to interpretation too. The

assamese 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 ahierarchical system amongst group members based upon the

matriline.

Assam macaques are

Group sizes varied between 13 to35 individuals with a

mean group size of 23.66 individuals, and comprised

31% adult females, 16% adult males and their young of

various ages.

Reciprocity and social bonding hypotheses were evaluated as

explanations for observed patterns of social grooming in assamese

macaques (Macaca assamensis). In accordance with social bonding,

females, as the long-term residents of this matrifocal group,

groomed each other and juveniles more often than males groomed

one another or juveniles. On the other hand, males groomed females

more often and for longer durations than females groomed males

and, whereas both males and females groomed juveniles more often

than juveniles groomed them, juveniles groomed their elders for

longer durations. Male grooming for females did not seem directly

related to matings as males are single mount ejaculators and use

coercive mating tactics. Male grooming of females could not be



accounted for in terms of reciprocity; it was not a simple function of

dominance. Although both sexes groomed subordinate females more

than vice versa, males groomed dominant males more and females

groomed subordinate males more than they received grooming fromthem. Grooming was concluded to function to establish and maintain

affiliative social bonds rather than as a specific mechanism to obtain

matingns or any other specific reciprocation in terms of services or

favors.

COMMUNICATIONS

o VOCAL COMMUNICATION:

scream calls: this call is given by the assamese macaque when they

approached by a non-group conspecific.

o 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).

FOOD

The assamese macaque consumes fruits, leaves, insects and small

mammals; this species especially likes to eat immature leaves. They

are omnivorous and feed on fruits, leaves, invertebrates and

cereals. They preferred maize cobs followed by potato tubers, but

also raided fields with wheat, buck wheat and millet.



LOCOMOTION

The assamese macaque is a quadrupedal species (Fleagle, 1988).

This Primate species move by branchiation, bipedalism, leaping,

arboreal and terrestrialquadrupedalism, climbing, knuckle-walking

or by a combination of these methods.

PHLOGENETIC POSITION

Kingdom: animalia

Class: mammalian

Order: primates

Family: cercopithecidae

Genus: macaca

Species: assamensis

Scientific Name: macaca assamensis

OBJECT OF STUDY

We can compare the inter relationship between the human

ancestors and contemporary primates bio-cultural features. It

probably shows a woodland species characters which was

omnivorous though mainly vegetarian, showing some sharing

behaviour. Grouping behaviour would have depended on diet and

habitat. Sexual relationships might have varied from relatively

exclusive to more promiscuous and it is quite likely that there would

have been ‘friendships’.



AREA OF STUDY

Alipore zoological garden. The Alipore Zoological Gardens

(also informally called the Alipoor Zoo or KolkataZoo) is India’s

largest and oldest formally started zoological park (as opposed to

royal and British menegeries) and a big tourists attraction in

Kolkata, West Bengal. It has been open as a zoo since 1876, and

covers 45 acres (18 ha).

METHOD OF STUDY

We study the primate behaviour on Assamese macaque in 10 to 15focal and with 5 interval in each focal.

OUR STUDY

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

For the study of non-human social behaviour we went to

alipore Zoological Garden under the supervision of Dr. Subir Biswas(Head of Dpt. Of Anthropology in W.B.B.S.U.). We selected

assamese macaque for the Study of non human social behaviour.

We study the primate behaviour on Assamese macaque in 12 focal

and with 5 interval in each focal. 12 focals are mentioned below-

FOCAL-1TIME AGE &

SEX

ACTIVITIES RESULT USE OF

HAND

TIME

(IN)

TIME

(OUT)

TOTAL

TIME

(S)

Locomotion Do Both 0.00 0.17 17

10 Sitting Do - 0.18 0.34 17

12.05 Years Locomotion Do Both 0.35 0.50 16

To Sitting Do - 0.51 1.10 20

12.10 Male Eating Do Right 1.11 1.20 10


Sitting Do - 2.31 4.30 120Locomotion Do Both 4.31 5.00 30



FOCAL-2TIME AGE &

SEX


HAND

TIME

(IN)

TIME

(OUT)

TOTAL

TIME (S)Locomotion Do Both 0.00 0.20 TIME

10 Eating Do Left 0.21 0.37 15

12.15 Years Sitting Do - 0.36 0.50 15

To Eating Do Left 0.51 1.10 30

12.20 Male Sittting Do - 1.21 3.50 150


FOCAL-3TIME AGE &

SEX


HAND

TIME

(IN)

TIME

(OUT)

TOTAL

TIME (S)

12.25 10 Eating Do Right 0.00 1.20 80

To Years Sitting Do - 1.21 4.00 160

12.30 Male Locomotion Do Both 4.01 5.00 60

FOCAL-4TIME AGE &

SEX


HAND

TIME

(IN)

TIME

(OUT)

TOTAL

TIME (S)

12.35 10 Hoping Do Both 0.00 2.20 140





FOCAL-5TIME AGE &

SEX


HAND

TIME

(IN)

TIME

(OUT)

TOTAL

TIME (S)12.45 10 Sitting Do - 0.00 3.50 230

To Years Hoping Do - 3.51 4.10 20


FOCAL-6TIME AGE &

SEX


HAND

TIME

(IN)

TIME

(OUT)

TOTAL

TIME (S)


10 Sitting Do - 0.26 0.57 32

12.55 Years Locomotion Do Both 0.58 1.02 5

To Grooming Do - 1.03 1.10 8


Sitting Do - 3.31 5.00 150

FOCAL-7TIME AGE &

SEXACTIVITIES RESULT USE OF

HANDTIME(IN)

TIME(OUT)

TOTALTIME (S)

Sitting Do - 0.00 0.25 25

1.05 10 Locomotion Do Both 0.26 0.57 32


1.10 Hoping Do Both 1.03 1.10 8

Male Locomotion Do Both 1.11 2.30 80



FOCAL-8

TIME AGE &

SEX


HAND

TIME

(IN)

TIME

(OUT)

TOTAL

TIME (S)


10 Sitting Do - 1.21 2.20 60

1.15 Years Standing Do Both 2.21 2.25 5

To Locomotion Do - 2.26 3.20 55

1.20 Male Sitting Do Both 3.21 4.20 60

Hoping Do - 4.21 5.00 40

FOCAL-9

TIME AGE &

SEX


HAND

TIME

(IN)

TIME

(OUT)

TOTAL

TIME (S)

10 Hoping Do Both 0.00 2.10 1301.25 Years Sitting Do - 2.11 2.20 10

To Locomotion Do Both 2.21 4.00 100

1.30 Male Sitting Do - 4.01 5.00 60

FOCAL-10

TIME AGE &

SEX


HAND

TIME

(IN)

TIME

(OUT)

TOTAL

TIME (S)

Sitting Do - 0.00 1.10 70

1.35 10 Lying on the

floor

Do - 1.11 2.10 60

To Years Grooming Do Right 2.11 2.50 40

1.40 Sitting Do - 2.51 3.30 40

Male Locomotion Do Both 3.31 5.00 90



FOCAL-11TIME AGE &

SEX


HAND

TIME

(IN)

TIME

(OUT)

TOTAL

TIME (S)

Sitting Do - 0.00 1.00 60

1.45 10 Locomotion Do Both 1.01 2.20 80To Years Sitting Do - 2.21 3.50 90

1.50 Male Hoping Do Both 3.51 4.10 20

Sitting Do - 4.11 5.00 50

FOCAL-12

TIME AGE &

SEX


HAND

TIME

(IN)

TIME

(OUT)

TOTAL

TIME (S)

Sitting Do - 0.00 1.00 60

1.55 10 Locomotion Do Both 1.01 2.20 80


2.00 Male Hoping Do Both 3.51 4.10 20

Sitting Do - 4.11 5.00 50

Their all activities (in second)

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

1800



OBSERVATION:

Our study was held on 31st December between12:05 to 1:05. We observed that he spend their maximum time

in sitting and locomotion. Hoping is frequent in him. Sometime,

he was eating grass. Grooming was not so common in him.

REFERRENCES:

1. ^ Groves, c. (2005). Wilson, D. E., & Reeder, D. M, eds. Ed.

Mammal Species of the World(3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns

Hopkins University Press. pp. 161. OCLC 62265494. ISBN 0-801-

88221-4.

2. ^a b c d Boonratana, R., Chalise, M., Das, J., Htun, S. And

Timmins, R. J. (2008). "Macaca assamensis". IUCN Red List ofThreatened Species. Version 2010.4. International Union for

Conservation of Nature.

3. ^ Francis, C. M. (2008) A field guide to the mammals of

South-East Asia. New Holland Publishers. ISBN 1845377354

4. ^Groves, C. P. (2001) Primate taxonomy. Smithsonian

Institution Press, Washington, DC, USA.

5. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assam_macaque

6. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Assam_Macaque_area.png

7. www.theprimata.com/macaca_assamensis.html

the assam macaque

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