Southern Pig-tailed Macaque

A robust, short-tailed macaque — the tail is carried arched up over the back, pig-like, giving the species its name — with a buff-brown coat, a darker saddle across the back and amber eyes set against pale eyelids. More terrestrial than the long-tailed macaque, spending a large proportion of its time foraging on the forest floor.

Troops range widely through primary and logged forest in loose, spread-out groups, feeding on fallen fruit, seeds and invertebrates. A Peninsular Malaysia study found this species to be effectively the sole ground-level disperser of several non-climbing rattan species among 25 resident frugivorous mammals surveyed at the site — a specific and important ecological role, though this finding comes from outside Borneo and hasn't been confirmed locally.

Endangered (IUCN, assessed 2022), with declining range and habitat quality across Borneo, Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia.