Provisioning food given by visitors to alpha-male long-tailed macaques at recreation forest, all of them are halal

The long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis Raffles, 1821) is a non-human primate (NHP) species with social status in its group. Macaca fascicularis living in groups and social castes. Alpha males lead their group. Alpha males will have greater access to food than individuals with lower social castes. The content of feed eaten by animals, of course, will affect health. Various biological processes occur, from the food eaten by animals to affect the health of human life. If the food eaten is toxic, it will be hazardous to the animal's metabolism for life. According to a Muslim perspective, how much better food can be eaten is included in Halal products. Including, in this case, food ingredients for feed, if it comes from ingredients that are included in the halal category, this will provide animal welfare. This study seeks to explain how visitors' feed types (provisioning food) to alpha-male Macaca fascicularis at Mbah Agung Karangbanar Recreation Forest, Banyumas, Central Java, Indonesia. This study used behavioral coding to measure the frequency and quantity of eating behavior for ten days based on visitor feeding. The remainder of the provisioning food found is recorded as data on the type of provisioning food. Based on the study results, the alpha-male was noted to eat provisioning food such as peanuts, bananas, sweet potatoes, snacks, and foods mixed with soy sauce given by visitors. All of them are halal because they eat visitors every time they come to a tourist location. Alpha-male was noted to have no interest in the carcasses found, so they did not eat them.

Overlooked evidence for semantic compositionality and signal reduction in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Recent discoveries of semantic compositionality in Japanese tits have enlivened the discussions on the presence of this phenomenon in wild animal communication. Data on semantic compositionality in wild apes are lacking, even though language experiments with captive apes have demonstrated they are capable of semantic compositionality. In this paper, I revisit the study by Boesch (Hum. Evol. 6:81–89, 1991) who investigated drumming sequences by an alpha male in a chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) community in the Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire. A reanalysis of the data reveals that the alpha male produced semantically compositional combined messages of travel direction change and resting period initiation. Unlike the Japanese tits, the elements of the compositional expression were not simply juxtaposed but displayed structural reduction, while one of the two elements in the expression coded the meanings of both elements. These processes show relative resemblance to blending and fusion in human languages. Also unlike the tits, the elements of the compositional expression did not have a fixed order, although there was a fixed distribution of drumming events across the trees used for drumming. Because the elements of the expression appear to carry verb-like meanings, the compositional expression also resembles simple verb-verb constructions and short paratactic combinations of two clauses found across languages. In conclusion, the reanalysis suggests that semantic compositionality and phenomena resembling paratactic combinations of two clauses might have been present in the communication of the last common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans, not necessarily in the vocal modality.

Tactical deception in sociosexual behaviour of stump-tailed macaques (Macaca arctoides): an exploratory study

Tactical deception (TD) is a social strategy in which a subject performs an action to its own benefit causing disadvantage for a competitor. In primates, the cognitive mechanisms involved in TD have been described at different levels. Sneaky mating is a common context within which to study TD because in many primate groups, dominant males monopolize access to females and subordinate males must find a way to copulate with females avoiding the alpha’s presence. The objective of this study was to explore which of the TD behavioural strategies are involved in the male sociosexual behaviour of a group of stump-tailed macaques (Macaca arctoides). We found that the subordinate males participated in more interactions when they were in a section of the enclosure where the alpha male was not present. The alpha male had more copulation interactions, but the beta male’s interactions lasted longer on average. Our data offer evidence in support of the hypothesis that stump-tailed macaques may use TD strategies that are related to operant conditioning.

Overlooked evidence for non-juxtaposed conjunctive semantic compositionality in wild chimpanzees?

Recent discoveries of semantic compositionality in Japanese tits have enlivened the discussions on the presence of this phenomenon in animal communication. However, data on semantic compositionality in primates are lacking. In this paper, I revisit the study by Boesch [1991 (Hum Evol 6:81-89] who investigated drumming sequences by an alpha male in a chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) community in the Taï National Park, Côte d'Ivoire. A reanalysis of the data reveals that, similar to the Japanese tits, the alpha male produced conjunctively (“additively”) combined messages of travel direction change and resting period initiation. Unlike the Japanese tits, the elements of the conjunctive message were not simply juxtaposed but displayed structural reduction reminiscent of fusion in human languages. Also unlike the Japanese tits, the elements of the conjunctive message did not pass the movement test for syntactic constituents. Additionally, limited data possibly point to processes similar to reduplication in human languages.

Sex Differences in Hierarchical Stability in a Formation of a Mixed-Sex Group of Rhesus Macaques

Forming groups of captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) is a common management practice. New formations of unfamiliar macaques can be costly, with high levels of trauma, particularly as intense aggression is used to establish a dominance hierarchy. Combining previous subgroups into one new group may be beneficial, as some individuals already have established dominance relationships. We tested this hypothesis by forming a new mixed-sex group of rhesus macaques that combined an established group of females with an established group of males. Prior to the mixed-sex group formation, both the female and male hierarchies had been stable for 3 y; after mixed-sex group formation these hierarchies were maintained by the females and were initially maintained by the males for 3 wks. However, the temporary hospitalization (due to a laceration caused by aggression) of the alpha male destabilized the male hierarchy. Age and weight then predicted male rank. Temporary hospitalizations resulted in rank changes for the males, evidenced by reversals in subordination signals. Thisstudy indicates that using established groups of familiar individuals may maintain female hierarchical stability in a mixed-sex group formation, but further research is needed to understand how to maintain and predict male hierarchical stability to reduce trauma. Improved knowledge of hierarchical stability would be invaluable to managers of large rhesus macaque groups and would help improve the welfare of captive rhesus macaques.

Cooperative rescue of a juvenile capuchin (Cebus imitator) from a Boa constrictor

The threat of predation by snakes is considered to have played a significant role in the evolution of primate sensory systems and behavior. However, we know relatively little about individual and group responses given the rarity of observed predation events. Here we report an observed (filmed) predation attempt by an adult Boa constrictor (~ 2 m) on a juvenile white-faced capuchin (Cebus imitator) in the Sector Santa Rosa of the Área de Conservación Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The snake caught the juvenile monkey on the ground during a terrestrial play session. When the victim screamed, the alpha male, alpha female, and another adult female ran to the scene, physically attacked the snake (with bites and hits), and pulled the victim to safety. Most group members participated in the vocal mobbing of the snake both during and after the attack. Based on the outcomes of this predation attempt and published reports of other B. constrictor attacks on primates, the coordinated efforts of ≥ 2 group members is needed for a successful rescue. This observation adds to our growing knowledge of cooperative group behavior and its importance in predator defense.