Crested Black Macaque

Crested Black Macaque (Macaca nigra)

Shortly after sunrise a group of about 20 black monkeys takes over their morning shift in the rain forest of Sulawesi (Indonesia). Like firemen on a pole the Crested Black Macaques slide down the smooth trunks of the trees on which they slept at night. As soon as they reach the forest floor they spread out: four impressive males, many females and some playful youngsters. Even in the presence of people they obviously follow their daily routine. There are no signs of uneasiness when the group starts to collect edible items on the ground. With distances of up to several meters between individuals the monkeys keep in touch through little noises that they utter at small intervals. They all head for the nearby shore, where some mango trees and coconut palms bear fruits. Often the strong males work on the higher level up in the trees to find food, while enough is dropped to feed the “ground crew”. During the day the Crested Black Macaques stop every now and then to rest, which gives time for socializing and grooming as well as playing and practicing for the smallest. A mirror broken off from a car and found nearby an old forest road arouses interest and is passed on from hand to hand.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 29th, 2011 at 3:34 pm. It is filed under Awards. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.