Macaque–human interactions and the societal perceptions of macaques in Singapore

Abstract

Humans and long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) interface in several locations in Singapore. We investigated six of these interface zones to assess the level of conflict between the two species. We observed macaque-to-human interactions and distributed questionnaires to residents and visitors of nature reserves. We observed an average of two macaque-to-human interactions per hour at the sites, which included affiliative or submissive behaviors (46.9%), aggression (19.1%), taking food and other items (18.5%) searching bins, cars, and houses (13.4%), and nonaggressive contact (2.1%). Two-thirds of interactions occurred when a human was carrying food or food cues, and one-quarter occurred when a human provoked macaques. Only 8% of interactions occurred without a clear human-triggered context. Our interview showed one-third of respondents experienced nuisance problems from macaques. They had items taken from them (50.5%) and received threats (31.9%). Residents reported more nuisance problems than visitors, and their perceptions toward macaques differed. Residents were more aware of the consequences of food provisioning and that there were regulations against feeding. Residents fed macaques less and held more negative sentiments toward macaques. Nearly half of the interviewed people held neutral attitudes toward macaques and only 26.2% of respondents thought conflict with macaques warranted urgent action. Nearly two-thirds of the respondents supported education programs to ameliorate human–macaque conflict, and less than 15% supported removing or eradicating macaques. 87.6% felt that it is importance to conserve and protect macaques. Our results show that human–macaque conflict exists in Singapore, but that it may not be severe. Human behavior is largely responsible for macaque-to-human interactions, and thus could be lessened with management of human behavior in interface zones (i.e. restrict food carrying and provocation). Moreover, our interviews shows people living in Singapore value macaques, do not wish them entirely removed, prefer education-based solutions, and consider conservation and protection of them important.

Population and Behavior Surveys of Long-Tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis) in the Old Town, Lopburi Province

“…These observations are similar to those made by Fuentes (2006) when he observed differences between types of people and the interactions between humans and macaques at Bali and Gibraltar. In addition, work in Singapore has shown that residents and visitors to nature parks with macaques have very different attitudes and very different experiences with macaques (Sha et al, 2009b). Studying the behavioral flexibility and adaptability of wild and human-altered habitats of Assamese macaques (M. assamensis) in the in central Nepal also showed that provisioning alters the activity and feeding behavior of macaques.…”

“…They also occasionally threaten or cause harm to humans by acting aggressively. Aggressive macaque-to-human behavior is mainly the result of direct competition over contestable food sources (Fuentes, 2006;Fuentes et al, 2008;Sha et al, 2009b), but can also occur due to human prompting (i.e., teasing, chasing, approaching to close, etc. ), defense of young and interference with mating activity ((McCarthy et al, 2009;Gumert et al, 2009).…”

“…Sustained feeding by humans can also alter the reproductive success of macaques, by lowering infant and juvenile mortality and thus increasing population growth (Gumert et al, 2011). In contrast, humans can also limit population growth because they are dangerous to macaques and can harm or kill them through their activity, such as hunting, trapping (Louden et al, 2006), culling and removal of macaques (Gumert et al, 2011;Sha et al, 2009a;2009b). Areas of macaque-human interface range from highly competitive to mutualistic.…”

Characterizing the Picornavirus Landscape among Synanthropic Nonhuman Primates in Bangladesh, 2007 to 2008

“…The potential for cross-species transmission exists wherever humans and NHP come into contact. Human-NHP interaction is common in Asia, particularly in Bangladesh, where humans and NHP have lived sympatrically for centuries (6)(7)(8)(9). The contexts of contact between humans and NHP in Bangladesh are a microcosm of what is seen in much of South and Southeast Asia.…”

On the Rocks: Using Discourse Analysis to Examine Relationships between Barbary Macaques (Macaca sylvanus) and People on Gibraltar

“…Local residents, however, should take pride in Gibraltar; they should deal with their litter appropriately and consider the needs of those who will be disproportionately affected by macaques, encouraged by readily available extra food, spreading into urban areas. A study from Singapore revealed that residents reported more problems with long-tailed macaques than tourists did, but held overall neutral views of the macaques, despite experiencing occasional raids by macaques on their properties [Sha et al, 2009]. Several researchers have shown that adult male macaques are more likely than females or juveniles to engage with tourists, especially in aggressive encounters [Fuentes and Gamerl, 2005;Fuentes, 2006;Hsu et al, 2008]; this is reflected in complaints about adult male Barbary macaques in the "Monkey Sightings" group, demonstrating the impact felt by residents when tourism inures primates to a range of human interaction.…”