One of the 6 macaques on WAnimals
Mammals · Primates · Cercopithecidae
Southern Pig-tailed Macaque
Macaca nemestrina
It faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future. See full glossary
The southern pig-tailed macaque owes its name to a short, sparsely haired tail that it carries arched upright, similar to a pig's. It is robust, terrestrial and lives in large groups with marked hierarchies. It eats fruit, seeds, fungi and invertebrates, and on plantations it consumes large numbers of rats, which gives it a little-recognised role in pest control. The conversion of rainforest into oil palm is the main cause of its decline.
Weight
5 kg – 15 kg
Size
47 cm – 60 cm
Lifespan
26 years
Diet
Herbivore
Feeds mainly on plants.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
Herd
Lives in large groups as a strategy against predators.
Sighting difficulty
Hard
Fun facts
- GeneralIn Malaysia it is trained to climb palms and harvest coconuts.
- In Malaysia it has been documented that a single group can eat more than 3,000 rats a year on oil palm plantations, a pest control service that more than makes up for the fruit it takes.
- In Thailand and Malaysia it has traditionally been trained to climb coconut palms and pull down the ripe coconuts, a practice now much debated on animal welfare grounds.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
- Habitat & environment
- Lowland rainforest, montane forest and plantations of South-East Asia
- Size at birth
- Born with its eyes open, clinging to its mother's fur from the first day
- Sexual maturity
- 3.1 years
- Gestation / incubation
- 5.7 months
- Litter / clutch size
- 1
Sources consulted: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_pig-tailed_macaque
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: All year round in Sumatra, Borneo and the Malay Peninsula, by day, mostly on the forest floor and along plantation edges.
Where to watch it
Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 10 de 33 documentados.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Southern Pig-tailed Macaque — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Hatinh Langur
Trachypithecus hatinhensis
EndangeredProboscis Monkey
Nasalis larvatus
Phayre’s Leaf-monkey
Trachypithecus phayrei
EndangeredLong-tailed Macaque
Macaca fascicularis
Thomas’s Langur
Presbytis thomasi
Assamese Macaque
Macaca assamensis
How to help
The southern pig-tailed macaque is classified as endangered. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 8 real protected areas — part of why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about southern pig-tailed macaque.
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