Hey! We are very common monkeys that you might encounter in your neighborhood if you live in India. We are Rhesus Macaques.
Know more about us by reading below:
- Though our name comes from Mythological King Rhesus of Thrace from the Iliad, the French naturalist John Baptiste Audebert, who named us said the name doesn’t have any meaning.
- Due to our highly adaptive nature, we can live anywhere with food and water source.
- Do you know? Like many primates, we are intelligent creatures and can understand rules, make judgments, and check our mental states.
- Rhesus factor (Rh factor) in the blood is discovered by Karl Landsteiner and Alexander Weiner using us. Hence the factor is named after us. We were also useful in the development of vaccines for Rabies, Smallpox, and Polio, development of drugs to manage HIV/AIDS, and understanding Embryonic Stem cell research.
- We have expressive faces and we are found to be capable of using tools like sticks and other small items for hunting and grooming.
SOME QUICK FACTS:
Our Scientific Name: Macaca Mulatta.
Identification: Typical small monkey with brownish-grey fur.
Our Habitat: Any kind of forest and near human settlements.
Our Range:
Our Food Habits: Omnivorous; feed on fruits, herbs, leaves, roots, seeds, crops, insects and other small animals.
Our Breeding Period: All around the year.
Number of offspring: 1
Our Gestation period: Around 165 days.
Sexual Maturity: Males: 4.5-7 years; Females: 2.5-3 years.
Our Lifespan: About 30 years in wild, 35 years in the captivity.
IUCN red list status: Least Concern.
CITES: Appendix II
Indian Wildlife Protection Act: Schedule II
SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiformes
Family: Cercopithecidae
Genus: Macaca
Species: M. mulatta
COMPLETE DETAILS ABOUT US FOR ANIMAL ENTHUSIASTS
We are the best known in the family of Old-world monkeys. We are scientifically called as Macaca Mulatta.
HOW WE LOOK:
We are small monkeys with a body length of 45cm-64cm and a tail length of 19cm-32cm. Males of our species weighing 6.5kg-12kg are larger than females who are about 5.5kg in average.
We are brownish grey in color with fur at the underparts being lighter than the upperparts. We have white fur in the chest area.
Our face is red in color along with our buttocks. We have long arms and legs with fingers that can hold on tight to any branch. The young ones of our species look similar to adults.
WE ARE FOUND IN:
We are a highly adaptive species and can live in a wide range of habitats. We can live in any type of forest.
We prefer living in forests near human settlements and also in isolated areas of human settlements.
Our range lies in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Burma, South China, Thailand, Vietnam and near borders of neighbouring countries.
WHAT WE EAT:
We are omnivorous animals and search for food. We prefer eating fruits, herbs, leaves, roots, seeds, crops, insects and other small animals.
OUR REPRODUCTION:
We live in large groups (80-100 individuals) of multiple males, females and the young ones. The dominance of the males and females exists within the group. Male dominance is determined by fighting and sometimes by being friendly and female dominance is according to age.
We normally live peacefully but violent interactions do occur sometimes. Our breeding season is all around the year as it depends on various factors like food, weather, etc. The female gives birth to one infant (rarely two) at a time and the gestation period is around 165 days.
The young one is taken care of by its mother and also other females of the group. The young one clings on its mother underparts or rides on the back of its mother. These young become independent after one year.
Males reach sexual maturity at 4.5-7 years and females reach sexual maturity at 2.5-3 years. Our average lifespan in the wild is 30 years and in captivity, it is 35 years.
MORE ABOUT US:
We are highly social animals and are very highly active and loud.
We are very good swimmers.
We communicate using various vocalizations and visual cues.
We take part in grooming to relieve tension between individuals and also increase social bonds.
We are intelligent animals and can make rational decisions sometimes by understanding rules.
Our predators include big carnivores, big birds and also snakes.
We are popular primates found in the zoo.
OUR CONSERVATION:
We are abundantly available in our range and are listed as “Least Concern” in the red list of IUCN, listed in CITES Appendix II and protected under Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 Schedule II.
