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Crab-Eating Macaque

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The crab-eating macaque is a medium species of monkey, found in the tropical and sub-tropical forests and jungles throughout South-East Asia. The crab-eating macaque differs from other macaque species in the fact that the crab-eating macaque has a long tail which is about the same length as it's body.

The crab-eating macaque is widely dispersed across the South-East Asian jungles and are found in a variety of different habitats. The crab-eating macaque generally settles in areas that are close to water over a wide range of habitats including lowland forests, tropical jungles and mangroves.

The crab-eating macaque is a highly sociable animal and lives in groups containing between 5 and 60 crab-eating macaque individuals. The crab-eating macaque troops are centred around the female crab-eating macaques are they remain in the same place for their whole lives. There are often half as many males in a crab-eating macaque troop than there are females.

The crab-eating macaque is an arboreal primate meaning that it spends most of its life in the safety of the trees. The crab-eating macaque has a long tail which helps it to balance and sharp nails and its fingers to toes which help with grip.

Despite its name, the crab-eating macaque does not only eat crabs and in fact at least 50% of the crab-eating macaque's diet is made up from fruits, nuts and seeds. The crab-eating macaque also eats insects, small reptiles, amphibians, fish and crustaceans.

The crab-eating macaque is relatively small in size and therefore has a number of predators within its natural environment. Tigers and large reptiles such as snakes and crocodiles are the main predators of the crab-eating macaque along with large birds of prey like eagles who prey on the smaller crab-eating macaque individuals.

After a gestation period of around six months, the female crab-eating macaque gives birth to a single infant (baby) crab-eating macaque. Male crab-eating macaque babies remain with their mothers until they are a couple of years old and are independent enough to find another troop, but the crab-eating macaque babies tend to remain in the troop for their whole lives.

Although the crab-eating macaque is not considered to be a animal under threat at this time, habitat loss in the form of pollution but primarily deforestation is causing sever declines in the crab-eating macaque population numbers.

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Crab-Eating Macaque Facts

Kingdom: A level of classifying all living things on earth, as similar species are broken into 5 groups including plants, animals and fungi....	Animalia
Phylum: A level of classifying animals within the animal kingdom. Phylum are further divided into subgroups called classes....	Chordata
Class: A level of classifying animals in a phylum. Classes are then sub-divided into further groups known as orders....	Mammalia
Order: A level used to classify animals. Classes are broken into sub-groups known as order, which are broken down further into families....	Primates
Family: A level of classifying animals within an order. Orders are broken down in families and families are broken down further into smaller groups called genus....	Cercopithecidae
Genus: A level of classifying animals within a family. Families are divided into sub-groups called genus which generally contain one or two animal species....	Macaca

Scientific Name:	Macaca Fascicularis
Type:	Mammal
Diet:	Carnivore
Size (H):	38cm - 55cm (15in - 22in)
Weight:	3kg - 9kg (7lbs - 20lbs)
Top Speed:	48km/h (30mph)
Life Span:	15 - 30 years
Lifestyle:	Troop
Conservation Status: The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation s...	Least Concern

Colour:	Grey, Brown, White, Yellow
Skin Type:	Fur
Favourite Food:	Crabs
Habitat: The term habitat is used to describe a specific area where a particular animal lives, within an environment. Many animals have adapted to requiring specific conditions which can only be found in their natural habitat su...	Rainforest and tropical jungle
Average Litter Size:	1
Main Prey: When an animal is referred to prey, it means that the animal is either hunted or caught for food. Animals that are referred to as prey are generally hunted by bigger animals, although there are a number of exceptions....	Crabs, Fruits, Seeds, Insects
Predators: When an animal is referred to as a predator, it means that the animal either hunts or catches other animals. Predatory animals are generally dominant within their environment and will generally hunt animals smaller than...	Eagle, Tiger, Large reptiles
Distinctive Features:	Very sociable animal with a long tail