Formosan Rock Monkey (Kaohsiung)

English Name: Formosan Rock Monkey, Formosan Macaque
Scientific Name: Macaca cyclopis
Chinese Name: 台灣獼猴 (Taiwan Mihou), 黑肢猴 (Heizhi Hou)
Chinese Meaning: "Taiwan Macaque", "Black-Limbed Monkey"


Date: February 12, 2010
Location: Chaishan Park, Gushan District, Kaohsiung City
Coordinates: 22° 39' 22" N, 120° 16' 11" E

The Formosan macaque (or rock monkey) is a species of monkey found naturally only in Taiwan (though there are some introduced colonies in Japan). It is also the only species of monkey or ape found in Taiwan, other than humans. Although the monkeys living in Taiwan are a unique species, they are closely related to other species of macaques, such as the Japanese "snow monkeys" and the "Barbary apes" found in North Africa and the Rock of Gibraltar (the only monkeys in Europe). Formosan macaques live in groups called "troops". It's reported that in the past they roamed Taiwan in groups of 100 or more, but now each troop usually has no more than a dozen members. Due to human interference, monkeys are now found only in the hills and mountains of Taiwan, but they are not especially endangered, due to their protected status under Taiwanese and international laws.



I finally got to see some monkeys when we went to Chaishan Park in Kaohsiung, also known by the names Shoushan and "Monkey Mountain", because it's well known for being home to many monkeys living close to the city (the Dutch colonists called it "Ape Hill"). When we first started on the trails, we didn't see any monkeys, and we were a little discouraged, but sure enough, when we walked far enough up the hill, we finally found a troop hanging out. They didn't seem to be afraid of humans at all. I was able to get very close to take pictures, though I was careful not to provoke them or stare into their eyes, because the park signs warned us not to. I caught this funny shot of one monkey panicking as another monkey almost falls off a tree branch:



Monkeys and humans in Taiwan don't always get along. The monkeys in Kaohsiung, in fact, have a reputation for being hostile to humans. There were apparently some monkey attacks on humans a few years back, though they seemed perfectly docile when we visited. In other parts of Taiwan, monkeys sometimes clash with villagers when they raid farms for food. In places like Kaohsiung, people will sometimes feed them on purpose. This can sometimes cause problems, because the monkeys become more reliant on food from people, and there are more opportunities for clashes. In the wild, Formosan rock monkeys eat things like fruit, leaves, and insects. There is also some illegal hunting of monkeys in Taiwan, but overall the species seems to be doing quite well, with the number of monkeys recently growing from previous years.

Note: A lot of the information for this post comes from the IUCN Redlist page for the species. The IUCN is the international organization that keeps track of which species are endangered or not endangered.