As humans reduce habitat, cut down fig trees, which are a key component to the diet of macaques, and as farms expand into forests, macaques have adapted to include crops in their diet, exploiting human resources (Richard et al. 1989; Riley and Priston 2010). Although local folklore describes humans and macaques as intertwined, crop raiding has earned them reputations as “pests” and “weed species” (Richard et al. 1989). Crop raiding is common among all species of macaques, including Celebes crested macaques (Riley and Priston 2010).
Certain diseases can also be transmitted among humans and macaques (Jones-Engel et al., 2005; Riley, 2010). There is evidence of macaque exposure to human respiratory viruses, including influenza A and parainfluenza 1, 2, and 3. This anthropozoonotic exchange may occur through individuals kept as pets, which come into contact with both wild macaques and humans (Jones-Engel et al. 2005).
Negative Impacts: injures humans (causes disease in humans , carries human disease); crop pest; causes or carries domestic animal disease
Celebes crested macaques have no major predators. They are, however, hunted by humans for their meat (Riley 2007; Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust 2011).
Known Predators:
Celebes crested macaques are large, diurnal primates with black faces and bodies. Their crania are more prognathic and baboon-like than those of other macaques (Sugardjito et al. 1989), and their crown hairs form a crest, pointing backward and up. Celebes crested macaques also have prominent kidney-shaped ischial callosities, which are bright pink, and a “nubbin-like” tail (Groves 2001). Because their tails are short (about 20 mm long), they are commonly misidentified as apes (Cawthorn Lang 2006).
The face of Celebes crested macaques is black and thinly covered with hairs, and their body hair is dense, coarse, and woolly (Fooden 1969). Juvenile Celebes crested macaques are paler than adults, appearing more brown than black. Juveniles have black hairs where the crest will develop (Fooden 1969). As adult males age, their hair grays and becomes grizzled, most noticeably in the upper body; this occasionally occurs on the arms of younger males as well (Hamada et al. 1988).
Celebes crested macaques are sexually dimorphic, with males typically measuring from 520 to 570 mm and weighing 9.9 kg and females measuring from 445 to 570 mm and weighing 5.5 kg (Thierry et al. 2004). Adult females are also paler in color than adult males (Fooden 1969).
Among the species of macaques present on the island of Sulawesi, Celebes crested macaques are most difficult to distinguish from Gorontalo macaques, Macaca nigrescens. Both have black skin, but the upper half of the body of Celebes crested macaques is darker and more dull (Hamada et al. 1988).
Range mass: 5 to 18 kg.
Average mass: Males 9.9 kg; Females 5.5 kg.
Range length: 445 to 570 mm.
Average length: Males 520 to 570 mm; Females 445 to 570 mm.
Sexual Dimorphism: male larger
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
The average life span of Celebes crested macaques is 18 years Cawthorn Lang 2006). The oldest individual in captivity survived 34 years (Schulz 2009).
Range lifespan
Status: captivity: 34 (high) years.
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 18 years.
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 34 years.
Celebes crested macaques and tarsiers are the only non-human primates to inhabit the forests of Sulawesi (Riley 2010). Celebes crested macaques live in the island’s forests at moderate elevations ranging from 700 to 1100 m above sea level, most likely determined by fruit abundance (Rosenbaum et al. 1998b). These areas experience relatively constant temperatures, although there are fluctuations in rainfall between dry and wet seasons (Supriatna and Andayani 2008). They prefer humid, tropical lowland and upland rainforests, but they are also known to frequent agricultural areas that have increasingly encroached on their habitat (Rosenbaum et al. 1998b; O’Brien and Kinnaird 1997).
Celebes crested macaques live in many protected areas including Gunung Lokon, Gunung Amban, Tangkoko Batuangus, Dua Saudara, and Batu Putih, and are also commonly found in captivity (Supriatna and Andayani 2008).
Range elevation: 700 to 1100 m.
Habitat Regions: tropical
Terrestrial Biomes: rainforest ; mountains
Other Habitat Features: agricultural
Macaca nigra is one of seven species of macaques endemic to the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia (Fooden 1969). Celebes crested macaques are restricted to northeast Sulawesi and the adjacent islands of Pulau Manadotua and Pulau Talise. They are no longer found on Pulai Lembeh. An introduced population of at least 100,000 individuals resides on Pulau Bacan, in the Maluku Islands (Supriatna and Andayani 2008).
Biogeographic Regions: oriental (Introduced , Native )
Other Geographic Terms: island endemic
Celebes crested macaques are mostly frugivorous, and figs comprise the majority of their diet. However, they have a diverse diet, consuming more than 145 species of plants, mostly fruit (Dracontomelon spp. and Ficus spp.), as well as some invertebrates (O’Brien and Kinnaird 1997; Rosenbaum et al. 1998b; Riley 2007). When fruit is scarce, their diet is supplemented by insects, shoots, young leaves, and the stems of flowering plants (Riley 2007; Supriatna and Andayani 2008). Celebes crested macaques have been observed preying on fruit bats, forest geckos, frogs, and the eggs of the red junglefowl and black-naped monarch flycatcher (O’Brien and Kinnaird 1997). Members of this species also raid crops, including maize (Zea mays), yams (Dioscorea), cassava (Manihot esculenta), papayas (Carica papaya), bananas (Musa), and cacao (Theobroma cacao) (Bynum et al. 1999; Rosenbaum et al. 1998a; Riley, 2007).
Celebes crested macaques forage throughout the day, occasionally storing food reserves in their cheek pouches (Schulz 2009).
Animal Foods: mammals; amphibians; reptiles; eggs; insects; terrestrial non-insect arthropods; terrestrial worms
Plant Foods: leaves; wood, bark, or stems; seeds, grains, and nuts; fruit; flowers
Foraging Behavior: stores or caches food
Primary Diet: herbivore (Frugivore ); omnivore
Celebes crested macaques have no major predators or catarrhine competitors (Riley 2007). Many macaques on the island of Sulawesi are known to associate with birds, including hair-crested drongos and yellow-billed malkoha (Matsumura 2001; Whitten et al. 2002). These birds prey on the insects that leave the canopy when macaques pass through (Matsumura 2001).
As frugivores, Celebes crested macaques act as seed dispersers of rainforst trees, especially for species of Dracomelon and Ficus (Rosenbaum et al. 1998b).
Fecal tests of Celebes crested macaques revealed the presence of parasites including Balantidium sp., Entamoeba sp., Ascaris sp., and Trichostrongylus sp., all of which are found in both humans and nonhuman primates (Paulsen et al. 2006). Among captive Celebes crested macaques, 72.2% (13 out of a sample of 18 individuals) were parasitized, with a mean of 1.1 parasite taxon per individual (Jones-Engel et el. 2004). A study of Sulawesi macaques kept as pets, which included Celebes crested macaques, found 7 taxa of intestinal protozoa (Blastocystis hominis, Iodamoeba butschlii, Entamoeba coli, Entamoeba hartmanni, Chilomastrix mesnili, Endolimax nana, and Retortamonas intestinalis) and 3 taxa of nematodes (hookworm, Trichuris sp., and Ascaris sp.) (Jones-Engel et al. 2004).
Ecosystem Impact: disperses seeds
Mutualist Species:
Commensal/Parasitic Species:
Celebes crested macaques play an important role in local folklore, and can serve as household pets (Hamada et al. 1988; Riley and Priston 2010). Considered a delicacy, they are hunted for bush meat and are served on holidays and special occasions (Schulz 2009; Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust 2011). CITES prohibits live trade of this speices, though illegal trafficking may still occur (Supriatna and Andayani 2008).
Because Celebes crested macaques are the only non-human primate model for Type II diabetes mellitus, they are valuable in scientific research (Thomson et al. 1992).
This species also plays a considerable role in ecotourism (Schulz 2009).
Positive Impacts: pet trade ; food ; ecotourism ; research and education
In 2008, the IUCN listed Celebes crested macaques as critically endangered (Supriatna and Andayani 2008). This species is also listed in CITES Appendix II. Population size has decreased by 80% in the last 40 years, primarily due to hunting and loss of habitat (Kyes et al. 2000; Laatung et al. 2006). There are estimated to be 4,000 to 6,000 individuals in the wild. On Bacan Island, there is an introduced population of 100,000 individuals, which is not included in the population estimate (Hamada et al. 1994), but could become the last surviving population of Celebes crested macaques in the near future (Riley 2010).
Main threats to the conservation of Celebes crested macaques include human population growth and land conversion (Bynum et al. 1999). Following recent spikes in human habitation, which in 2002 was 132 individuals per sq km, is large-scale deforestation by logging, the transmigration program, and cash crop farming, most of which is partially funded by the government (Whitten et al. 2002).
Humans cut down trees that are important to the diet and habitat of macaques, such as fig trees (Riley and Priston 2010). Human-macaque sharing of resources is occasionally possible, as with Arenga pinnata palm trees, from which macaques gather fruit and humans take palm fronds. However, deforestation for timber and firewood and clearing for agriculture permanently removes resources utilized by macaques (Riley, 2010).
Despite their critical conservation condition, the total area of protected land inhabited by Celebes crested macaques (16,848 ha) is less than any other macaques on the island of Sulawesi (Riley 2010).
CITES: appendix ii
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: critically endangered
Celebes crested macaques utilize a variety of visual and physical behaviors to communicate. To indicate aggression, males stare with an open mouth, grin with the mouth closed, yawn, lunge, and chase (Nickelson and Lockard 1978; Reed et al. 1997). Submission and satisfaction are signaled with a grimace and lip smacking (Nickelson and Lockard 1978). As with other macaques, males are known to silently bare their teeth, postulated as a display of “peaceful intentions” (Thierry et al. 2000). Dominant males also bare their canines in a “yawn” to indicate supremacy (Assahad et al. 2008).
Celebes crested macaques also use vocalizations. They are known for a loud, bird-like call that may be a method of intervening in conflicts, signaling to keep away from other groups (Muroyama and Thierry 1998; Kinnaird and O’Brien 1999), or as a “signal of dominance to prevent contests between males for mates” (Neumann et al. 2010). Frequency and complexity of calls correlates with male rank, with high-ranking males emitting complex calls more frequently than subordinates (Assahad et al. 2008).
Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Celebes crested macaques, Macaca nigra (synonyms: Macaca lembicus, Macaca malayanus), are also known as black crested macaques, crested black macaques, Sulawesi black macaquse, Sulawesi macaques, and incorrectly as Celebes black apes (Supriatna and Andayani 2008; Riley 2010). Hybrids of M. nigra and M. nigriscens have been recorded (Sugardjito et al. 1989).
Celebes crested macaques are promiscuous, or polygynandrous, as each individual (male and female) has multiple mates. Females exhibit sexual swelling in the anogenital area to indicate ovarian activity and sexual receptivity, sending visual and olfactory cues, which males sense by sniffing female genitalia (Engelhardt and Farajallah 2008). However, the degree to which males use visual, olfactory, and behavioral signs to determine female fertility remains unclear (Thierry et al. 2004).
Adult females approach high-ranking males for sex more often than they do low-ranking males, although all males copulate about the same amount (Reed et al. 1997). A female presents herself to a male by facing her swollen genitals, slightly raised, toward the male, and smacking her lips. The male holds the female’s legs and waist during copulation. The pair engages in reciprocal grooming following intercourse (Nickelson and Lockard 1978). There are two types of ejaculatory patterns among species of macaques. Male Celebes crested macaques mount the female multiple times but only ejaculate during the last mount (multiple-mount ejaculation) (Caldecott 1986).
Sexual swelling of the female anogenital area also occurs when females are not ovulating, which promotes non-procreative copulation (Thomson et al. 1992). Homosexual behavior such as displaying, mounting, and genetal contact has also been observed among males of this species (Soltis 2004).
Mating System: polygynandrous (promiscuous)
Little is known about the reproductive biology of Celebes crested macaques in the wild (Engelhardt and Farajallah 2008). They breed year-round, although periods of high ovarian activity among adult females occur from August to June, and birthing peaks between January and May (Engelhardt and Farajallah 2008).
Fertility of males and females overlaps (Bernstein et al. 1982). Females have a menstrual cycle of approximately 32 days, which is unusually long for macaques and occurs because of an extended follicular phase. Cycle length and maximal genital swelling period are extended when males are absent (Bernstein et al. 1982; Thomson et al. 1992).
Females give birth to a single offspring every 18 months. Gestation last 5.5 months. Offspring spend much less time with their mother at 4 months of age and are completely weaned by 1 year of age (Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust 2011).
In most populations, the adult sex ratio is 3 females to 5 males (Thierry et al., 2004). Macaques are sexual bimaturists, with females reaching physical maturity faster than males, though the hormonal processes responsible for maturation are identical in both sexes (Thierry, 2007). Males produce sperm around 3 or 4 years of age, though they do not reach a body mass necessary for mating (physical maturity) for another 3 to 6 years (Thierry et al. 2004; Howard et al. 1999).
Breeding interval: Celebes crested macaques typically give birth once every 18 months.
Breeding season: Celebes crested macaques breed year-round, although breeding increases between August and June.
Average number of offspring: 1.
Range gestation period: 5 to 6 months.
Average weaning age: 12 months.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 4 to 6 years.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 4 to 6 years.
Key Reproductive Features: year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; viviparous ; post-partum estrous
Average birth mass: 461 g.
Average number of offspring: 1.
Little is known regarding parental care among Celebes crested macaques. Based on comparable patterns of behavior and social structure, parental investment in this species is likely similiar to that of other macaques: care is primarily maternal, though aunting behavior occurs, in which an infant is carried by juvenile females supervised by the mother (Cawthorn Lang 2006). Infants of this speices often cling to their mother's belly for protection (Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust 2011).
Although sexual swelling in the anogenital area marks periods of ovulation, sexual swelling also occurs when females are not ovulating, promoting non-procreative copulation (Thomson et al. 1992). This may confuse paternity, increasing male parental care and decreasing the likelihood of infanticide (Soltis 2004).
Parental Investment: female parental care ; pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-independence (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female)
The Celebes crested macaque (Macaca nigra), also known as the crested black macaque, Sulawesi crested macaque, or the black ape, is an Old World monkey that lives in the Tangkoko reserve in the north-eastern tip of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi (Celebes), as well as on smaller neighbouring islands.
Locally known as yaki or wolai, its skin and hairless face is, with the exception of some white hair in the shoulder range, entirely jet black. Unusual for a primate, it has striking reddish-brown eyes. The long muzzle with high cheeks and the long hair tuft, or crest, at the top of the head are remarkable features. It has an 'apelike' appearance due to its almost non-existent, non-visible, vestigial tail stub of only approximately 2 centimetres (0.79 inches). With a total body length of 44 to 60 centimetres (17 to 24 inches), and a weight of 3.6 to 10.4 kilograms (8 to 23 pounds), it is one of the smaller macaque species. Its life expectancy is estimated at 15 to 20 years in the wild.
The Celebes crested macaque is a diurnal rain forest dweller. This macaque is primarily terrestrial, spending more than 60% of its day on the ground foraging for food and socialising, while sleeping and searching for food in the trees.
The Celebes crested macaque is frugivorous, with 70% of its diet consisting of fruits. It also consumes leaves, buds, seeds, fungus, small birds and bird eggs, insects (such as beetles and caterpillars) worms, snails, and the occasional small lizard or frog.
It lives typically in groups of five to twenty-five animals, and occasionally in groups of up to seventy-five animals. Smaller groups have only a single adult male, while larger groups have up to four adult males. However, adult females always outnumber adult males by about 4:1. Young adult males are forced to leave their birth group upon maturity, sometimes forming bachelor groups, before seeking a connection to an existing adult mixed-sex group. Communication consists of various sounds and gestures; such as the presentation of the long canine teeth while grimacing, a clearly threatening gesture.
The Celebes crested macaque is promiscuous, with both males and females mating multiple times with multiple partners. The receptivity of the females is clearly indicated by an extreme tumescence (swelling) and redness of their buttocks which, in contrast to the black skin colour, is particularly noticeable. The gestation time is 174 days, and the birth of the usually single offspring happens in the spring when food is more plentiful. Young animals are nursed for approximately one year, becoming fully mature in three to four years, females somewhat sooner than males.
Because it devastates crops and fields, the Celebes crested macaque is hunted as a pest. It is also hunted to provide bushmeat. Clearing the rain forests further threatens its survival. Its situation on the small neighbouring islands of Sulawesi (such as Bacan) is somewhat better, since these have a low human population. The total population of the macaque on Sulawesi is estimated at 4,000–6,000, while a booming population of up to 100,000 monkeys is found on Bacan.
A series of survey trips to Sulawesi and the Minahasa forest area were made in 2004–2009 by Vicki Melfi, who is European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) studbook holder for these macaques, based at Paignton Zoo / the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust. She has been monitoring population density, which has declined from over 300 individuals per square kilometre in 1980, to 20 to 60 individuals today. A conservation programme called Selamatkan Yaki, or Save the Yaki, as this macaque is known in the local language, was launched with local partners and other conservation groups from Thailand, Germany, and the Wildlife Conservation Society (based in the United States). Both Newquay Zoo and Paignton Zoo are among a number of mostly European zoos which hold ex-situ breeding populations of this animal.[3]
Since 2006, the Macaca Nigra Project has been studying the biology and promoting the conservation of this species. The project, a collaboration between the German Primate Centre and the Bogor Agricultural Institute, is run by Antje Engelhardt, and located in the Tangkoko reserve, home of the biggest crested macaque population remaining in the species' original distribution range.
Nevertheless, despite being critically endangered, crested black macaque are still unprotected outside of Tangkoko reserve, and they are regularly hunted and slaughtered. They are easily caught and killed, as they have no fear of humans. Crested black macaque is considered a delicacy by local residents.[4]
In 2013, wildlife cameraman Colin Stafford-Johnson spent time on Sulawesi, filming the monkeys at close quarters for a BBC documentary entitled Meet the Monkeys.[5]
In 2014, considerable discussion of copyright issues was generated by a 'selfie' photograph taken by a Celebes crested macaque.[6]
Skull and a jaw bone at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, Netherlands
.jpg)
Skeleton in the Miguel Mendez, Malahide, Ireland
.jpg)
Two celebes macaques grooming each other at the Diergaarde Blijdorp in the Rotterdam, Netherlands
.jpg)
Juvenile Celebes crested macaque at the Buffalo Zoo in Buffalo, New York
.jpg)
A celebes macaque eating leaf
.jpg)
A celebes macaque trying to eat coconut at the Tangkoko National Park, Sulawesi, Indonesia
The Celebes crested macaque (Macaca nigra), also known as the crested black macaque, Sulawesi crested macaque, or the black ape, is an Old World monkey that lives in the Tangkoko reserve in the north-eastern tip of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi (Celebes), as well as on smaller neighbouring islands.
