Study on Feeding Behavior of <i>Rhesus macaque</i> from Sirmaur District, Himachal Pradesh, India

Priyanka Negi; D.M. Tripathi; Monika Kaushal

doi:10.36808/if/2026/v152i5/171171

Study on Feeding Behavior of Rhesus macaque from Sirmaur District, Himachal Pradesh, India

Authors

Priyanka Negi Zoology Department, Dhanauri P.G. College, Dhanauri, Haridwar, Uttarakhand
D.M. Tripathi University Department of Zoology, Pt. LMS Campus, Rishikesh, SDSU University, Tehri-Garhwal
Monika Kaushal Eternal University, Baru Sahib, Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36808/if/2026/v152i5/171171

Keywords:

Behavior, Diet, Feeding, Habitat, Human, Rhesus macaque

Abstract

In recent times, escalations in aggression, conflict over natural resources, and even the fatalities amongst the mammals, especially in monkeys and human beings, occur now and then throughout localities, state, country, and carry significant losses in terms of life and property. This study examines feeding behavior in monkeys for a proper understanding of their diet, food preferences, and habitat. The types of food and edibles items and time spent on feeding by macaques, concerning their impacts on general behavioral modifications, were extensively studied with standard protocols in the Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh, India. The results showed that these factors account for various serious behavioral alterations. This study concluded that Rhesus macaque prefer human habitation compared to forest area.

References

Air A. (2015). Crop raiding and conflict: Study of Rhesus macaque-human conflict in Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, Kathmandu Nepal, M Sc. Thesis, Norwegian University of Science and Technology: pp 34.

Altman J., Bracketi B., Goy R., Marrioti B., New A. and Senner J. (1981). Techniques for the Study of Primate. Population Ecology, National Academy Press Washington, D.C.

Anand S., Binoy V.V. and Radhakrishna S. (2018). The monkey is not always a God: Attitudinal differences toward crop-raiding macaques and why it matters for conflict mitigation. Ambio., 47(6): 711-720. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-017-1008-5

Chauhan A. and Pirta R.S. (2010). Public opinion regarding human-monkey conflict in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Journal of Environmental Sciences, 30(2): 105-109.

Das P.K. (2017). Ecological and social perspectives of human-monkey conflict: a case study of Shillibagi village, Shimla rural tehsil, Himachal Pradesh. Observer, 54: 104-108.

Fooden J. (2000). Systematic review of the Rhesus macaque, Macaca mulatta (Zimmermann, 1780). Fieldiana Zoology, 96: 1–180.

Gogoi S. and Das A.N. (2018). Diet and feeding behavior of Rhesus macaque at Navagraha temple, Kamrup district of Assam. Periodic research, 7(2): 93-98.

Goldstein S.J. and Richard A.F. (1989). Ecology of Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) in northwest Pakistan. International Journal of Primatology, 10(6): 531–567.

Kent M., Lues R. and Coker P. (1994). The general classification of Rhesus macaques, Macaca mulatta. International Journal of Bioassays, 11(6): 363.

Khatiwada S., Paudel P.K., Chalise M.K. and Ogawa H. (2020). Comparative ecological and behavioral study of Macaca assamensis and M. mulatta in Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, Nepal. Primates, 61(4): 603.

Kumar A. (2015). Population size and composition of Rhesus monkey, Macaca mulatta (Zimmerman, 1780) in Saraswati plantation wildlife sanctuary in district Kurukshetra, Haryana (India). The Ecoscan, 9(1&2): 147-152.

Malik I., Seth P.K. and Southwick C.H. (1984). Population growth of free-ranging rhesus monkeys at Tughaqabad. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 7(4): 311-312.

Orimaye J.O. (2019). The Feeding Ecology of Red-Patas Monkey (Erythrocebus Patas) in Old Oyo National Park, Southwest Nigeria. Journal of Ecology and Natural Resources, 3(3): 1-6. DOI: 10.23880/jenr-16000167

Pirta R.S., Gadgil M. and Kharshikar A.V. (1997). Management of the rhesus monkey Macaca mulatta and hanuman langur Presbytis entelius in Himachal Pradesh, India. Biological Conservation, 79(1): 97-106. https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-3207(95)00131-X

Richard A., Goldstein S. and Dewar R. (1989). Weed macaques: the evolutionary implications of macaque feeding ecology. International Journal of Primatology, 10(6): 569–594. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02739365

Saraswat R., Sinha A. and Radhakrishna S. (2015). A god becomes a pest? Human - Rhesus macaque interactions in Himachal Pradesh, northern India. European Journal of Wildlife Research, 61: 435-443. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-015-0913-9

Sarker G.C., Kabir M.M., Ferroz M.M. and Hasan M.K. (2008). Food and feeding behavior of Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) at Barmi, Gazipur, Bangladesh. Bangladesh Journal of Life Sciences, 20(2): 1-8.

Sengupta A. and Radhakrishna S. (2016). Influence of fruit availability on fruit consumption in a gernalist primate, the Rhesus macaque, Macaca mulatta. International Journal of Primatology, 37(6): 703–717. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-016-9933-x

Seth P.K. and Seth S. (1986). Ecology and behavior of Rhesus monkeys in India. Primate ecology and conservation, 2: 89-103.

Sha J.C.M. and Hanya G. (2013). Diet, activity, habitat use and ranging of two neighboring groups of food-enhanced long tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) American Journal of Primatology, 75(6): 581-592. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.22137

Sharma G., Ram C. and Rajpurohit L.S. (2011). Study of man-monkey conflict and its management in Jodhpur, Rajasthan (India). Journal of Evolutionary Biology Research, 3(1): 1-3.

Southwick C.H., Siddioi M.F., Farooqui M.Y. and Pal B.C. (1976). Effects of artificial feeding on aggressive behavior of Rhesus monkeys in India. Animal Behaviour, 24(1): 11-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0003-3472(76)80093-0

Southwick C.H., Siddiqi M.F. and Oppenheimer J.R. (1983). Twenty-year changes in rhesus monkey populations in agricultural areas of northern India. Ecology, 64(3): 34-439.

Tang C., Huang L., Huang Z., Krzton A., Lu C. and Zhou Q. (2016). Forest seasonality shapes diet of limestone-living rhesus macaques at Nonggang, China. Primates, 57(1): 83–92. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-015-0498-7

Tomar S. and Sikarwar R. (2014). Feeding ecology and diet composition of Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta ssp. mulatta) in Chitrakoot Region, India. Indian Forester, 140(10): 970-975.

Wellem C.W. (2014). Areview of the management measures of feral macaques in Hong Kong. Thesis, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.