Philippine Journal of Science
151 (2): 751-753, April 2022
ISSN 0031 – 7683
Date Received: 18 Oct 2021

Case Report of Infanticide by a Wild
Long-tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis)

Kanthi A. Widayati¹*, Ona Noerwana², Richsy M. Fauzi³, and Yamato Tsuji^4,5

¹Department of Biology, IPB University, Bogor, West Java 16680 Indonesia
²Bidang Konservasi Sumber Daya Alam Wilayah III, Ciamis, Ciamis 46213 Indonesia
³Department of Konservasi Sumberdaya Hutan dan Ekowisata,
IPB University, Bogor, West Java 16680 Indonesia
⁴Department of Socioecology, Primate Research Institute,
Kyoto University, Inuyama, Aichi 484-8506 Japan
⁵Department of Biology and Science, Ishinomaki Senshu University,
Ishinomaki, Miyagi 986-8580 Japan

*Corresponding author: widayati@apps.ipb.ac.id

 

[Download]
Widayati K et al. 2022. Case Report of Infanticide by a Wild Long-tailed Macaque
(Macaca fascicularis). Philipp J Sci 151(2): 751–753. https://doi.org/10.56899/151.02.17

 

ABSTRACT

Infanticide is common among non-human primates. There are a few cases of infanticide reported in wild groups of the genus Macaca, but in Macaca fasicularis, it is only reported under captive conditions. The present report describes the first case of infanticide observed in wild M. fascicularis in Pangandaran Nature Reserve, West Java, Indonesia, in which an adult male was seen carrying and repeatedly biting an infant. The male attacked a female (presumably the infant’s mother) who approached him. We discuss several explanations for the observed infanticide from the perspectives of sexual selection and socio-pathology.