The booted macaque (Macaca ochreata)
The booted macaque (Macaca ochreata) is included in the IUCN Red List as a "vulnerable species"
The booted macaque (Macaca ochreata) is a macaque of the Sulawesi Island, Indonesia.
Two subspecies are recognized:
- Macaca ochreata ochreata;
- Muna-Buton macaque, Macaca ochreata brunnescens.
Appearance and habitat
Macaca ochreata is a species of catarrhine primate of the family Cercopithecidae. Macaca ochreata is common in Indonesia on the island of Sulawesi and the adjacent small islands of Butung and Muna. The body length of these monkeys varies between 50 and 59 cm and their weight ranges from 6 to 10 kg.
Macaca ochreata live in tropical forests at altitudes up to 800 m above sea level, with occasional visits to plantations. Most of their time is spent in trees, but in heavily degraded forests they must spend more time on the ground.
Nutrition and social behaviour
Like other macaques, Macaca ochreata live in groups of between 12 and 30 individuals. Groups consist of males and females, but young females tend to stay in the home group, while males have to migrate to other groups.
Macaca ochreata feeds on various fruits, young leaves, shoots and cultivated herbs and vegetables; it also captures insects and other invertebrates.
Macaca ochreata on the Red List
Macaca ochreata is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. The species has declined by at least 40% in the last 40 years, mainly due to the clearing of tropical forests for cocoa, cotton and oil palm plantations.
