Preliminary Report on the Distribution and Status of Macaques in Thailand

We report here the preliminary results of studies on the distribution and status of five macaque species in Thailand. The latter lies in the center of the Indochinese Peninsula and is an important biogeographical region in SE Asia. We are conducting surveys through out Thailand in the order of questionnaire, census, and capture-and-release fieldwork where feasible. We have determined seven localities of stump-tailed macaques (M. arctoides); 36 localities of long-tailed macaques (M. fascicularis); eight localities of rhesus macaques (M. mulatta); six localities of assamese macaques (M. assamensis); and two localities of pig-tailed macaques (M. nemestrina leonina). Long-tailed and rhesus macaques belong to the same species-group, and are generally distributed allopatrically. The boundary between the two species in NE Thailand appears to lie close to latitude of 16oN. The phenotypic (pelage color and relative tail-length) and genetic characters (mtDNA and TSPY locus) of rhesus macaques resident in the area supposed close to the boundary have been analyzed; the results support the "Hybridization hypothesis" by Fooden ([2000], Fieldiana Zoology 96: 1-180). Troops of long-tailed macaques in Thailand, although their numbers sometimes exceed 1,000 animals, are isolated from other conspecifics. In addition, the genetic disturbance (pollution) introduced by artificial means, e.g., the breeding of released pets and human transfer of macaque troops threatens the innate biodiversity of the Thai macaque species.