Rhesus Macaque

About this species

Size

Head and body 47–53cm; tail 20.7–22.9cm

Weight

Males about 7.7kg; females about 5.3kg

Diet

Mostly fruit, also seeds, roots, buds, bark, cereals, insects, spiders and crabs; human food in cities

Habitat

A wide range of habitats and altitudes

Range

South, Central and Southeast Asia; India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Afghanistan, Vietnam and southern China

The rhesus macaque is brown or grey with a bare pink face. Adult males average about 53 cm long and weigh about 7.7 kg, and females average 47 cm and 5.3 kg, with a tail of 20.7–22.9 cm. It has the widest geographic range of any non-human primate, living in a great diversity of habitats and altitudes. Six to nine subspecies are recognised, in two groups, one Chinese-derived and one Indian-derived (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is diurnal, arboreal and terrestrial, and mostly herbivorous, eating mainly fruit as well as seeds, roots, buds, bark and cereals, with insects, spiders, honeycombs, crabs and bird eggs on the side. Groups are matrilineal, and monkeys in cities also eat human food and refuse. In western India the southern edge of the rhesus range and the northern edge of the bonnet macaque's run parallel, are separated by a large gap in the centre and overlap on the eastern coast (Wikipedia, general species account).

Description: Wildlife of India guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)