Macacos

MACAQUES (genus Macaca)

Katy	Macaques (genus Macaca) belong to the Cercopithecidae family, part of the order Primates. The macaque or Barbary macaque, (Macaca sylvanus) also know the Barbary ape on Gibraltar, is an Old World monkey (Catarrhini), currently found in a few reduced, isolated areas including the Rift and Atlas Mountains, North Africa (Morocco and Algeria) and on the Rock of Gibraltar, south of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the only primate, aside from humans, which currently roams free in Europe, and the only member of the Macaca genus that lives outside Asia. Macaques are small, quadrupedal ground dwellers, who never grow above 75 cm in height or weigh more than 13 kilos. Their bodies are covered in yellowish brown fur, sometimes greyish on some individuals. Their faces, feet and hands are a pinkish colour, and they have a vestigial tail barely visible from a distance. The males are larger than the females. Barbary macaques are diurnal omnivores, who live in mixed forest environments between 1000 and 3500 metres above sea level. They are constantly on the move searching for fruit, leaves, roots or insects. In cedar forests the groups can reach a density of 25-40 individuals per km2, or more, whilst in other types of habitats densities vary between 5-7 individuals per km2. They live in social groups of up to 80 macaques, with an average of 40 individuals, in a matriarchal structure governed by one female. After a gestation period of between four and five months, females give birth to a baby (two in exceptional cases), cared for by the father as well as the mother. The average age for the first birth is 5.3 years and the average interval between births is every 1.3 years. Females reach sexual maturity between 3.5 and 4 years of age, and males between 4.5 and 7 years. They can live to be 22 years old. Since they are in danger of becoming extinct, their conservation status is Endangered. In 1999 the estimated number of individuals was 15,000. Recently, the macaque population in Morocco was estimated to be 6,000 to 10,000. In Algeria the population is estimated at less than 5,000 individuals, whilst in Gibraltar the number has remained constant at 200 macaques.	Titín
Pipa		Abu