Reports

HOPE Report  2004-11-04

Program No.16 (Joint research)

Name: Goro Hanya

Occupation: Post-doctoral research fellow of JSPS, Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University

The title: Observation of colonies for Barbary macaques and comparative studies with Japanese macaques

Place of visit: Salem (Germany), Rennes (France), Apeldoorn (Netherlands), Zurich (Switzerland), Gibraltar (UK)

Period of visit: 4 October, 2004 - 27 October, 2004

Contents of research:

Japanese macaque is one of the few temperate primates. Ecological studies of this species are important to clarify how primates, originally distributed only in tropical regions, adapted to temperate regions. Although macaques are widely distributed in the temperate regions of East Asia, they have gone extinct in Europe until the middle Pleistocene and only one species, Barbary macaque, is distributed in North Africa as a relic species. Barbary macaques has separated from Asian macaques several millions years ago and have evolved independently afterwards. To reveal the ecological adaptations of temperate macaques, comparisons between Barbary macaques, which are the only surviving species in the western Eurasia, and Japanese macaques, which are most intensively studied among eastern Eurasia macaques.

Most of the studies of wild Barbary macaques have been conducted by European researchers. There is a free-ranging population of Barbary macaques in Gibraltar and there are large enclosures in Germany and France. I visited these places and examined the possibilities of comparative collaborative studies between Barbary and Japanese macaques.

I visited Rennes University in France. I made a lecture on my studies of Japanese macaques for graduate and undergraduate students. I discussed with Dr. Nelly Menard about the comparative studies, and we agreed that we are going to compare their diet and habitat.

I visited the Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society and observed free-ranging Barbary macaques in Gibraltar. Almost one million tourists visit Gibraltar and watch macaques here annually. Currently there is no way to control the behavior of tourists, so interactions between macaques and tourists cause many problems.

I visited 'Affenberg Salem' in Germany and Apenheul Primate Park in Netherlands to observe Barbary macaques living in outdoor encloses.

I visited Prof. Carel van Schaik at Zurich University and made presentations on my studies of Japanese macaques at his laboratory's seminar.

Barbary macaque in Affenberg Salem, Germany

Walking trail for toursits in Affenberg Salem, Germany

Barbary macaque in Gibraltar with African mountains in the background

Tourists watching Barbary macaques in Gibraltar

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