page_title: Crab-eating macaque
section_title: Relationship with humans
hierarchical_section_title: Crab-eating macaque / Relationship with humans
caption_attribution_description: Monkey with a Ventolin inhalerin Bali, Indonesia.
context_page_description: The crab-eating macaque, also known as the long-tailed macaque, is a cercopithecine primate native to Southeast Asia. It is referred to as the cynomolgus monkey in laboratories. It has a long history alongside humans; it has been alternately seen as an agricultural pest, sacred animal in some temples, and more recently, the subject of medical experiments.
  The crab-eating macaque lives in matrilineal social groups of up to eight individuals dominated by females. Male members leave the group when they reach puberty. It is an opportunistic omnivore and has been documented using tools to obtain food in Thailand and Myanmar. The crab-eating macaque is a known invasive species and a threat to biodiversity in several locations, including Hong Kong and western New Guinea. The significant overlap in macaque and human living space has resulted in greater habitat loss, synanthropic living, and inter- and intraspecies conflicts over resources.
context_section_description: Crab-eating macaques extensively overlap with humans across their range in Southeast Asia. Consequently, they live together in many locations. Some of these areas are associated with religious sites and local customs, such as the temples of Bali in Indonesia, Thailand, and Cambodia, while other areas are characterized by conflict as a result of habitat loss and competition over food and space. Humans and crab-eating macaques have shared environments since prehistoric times, and both tend to frequent forest and river edge habitats. Crab-eating macaques are occasionally used as a food source for some indigenous forest-dwelling peoples. In Mauritius, they are captured and sold to the pharmaceutical industry, and in Angaur and Palau, they are sold as pets. Macaques feed on sugarcane and other crops, affecting agriculture and livelihoods, and can be aggressive towards humans. Macaques may carry potentially fatal human diseases, including herpes B virus.
  The macaques have also developed a reputation for actively stealing items from humans (cameras, eyeglasses, hats, etc.), then refusing to return their stolen goods until given food in return. This unique form of kleptoparasitism (known as "robbing and bartering") has primarily been observed in smaller groups of macaques living near Hindu temples and tourist-heavy areas, suggesting it is a learned behaviour within social groups, in response to realizing that humans would trade food for their possessions back.
caption: A crab-eating macaque living in a human vicinity, with a stolen asthma inhaler
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