Wildlifeof Borneo
Southern Pig-tailed Macaque
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Macaca nemestrina
Basic stats
Diet
Fruit, seeds, invertebrates, small vertebrates
Habitat
Primary and logged lowland/hill forest
Range
Borneo, Sumatra, Peninsular Malaysia, southern Thailand
Litter size
1
Gestation period
About 5.5–6 months (~171 days)
Size
Medium-large (head-body males 50–58cm, females 38–48cm)
Weight
Males 5–12kg; females 4.5–6kg
About the 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.
Its range and habitat quality are declining across Borneo, Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia.
