Basic information about Tibetan macaques
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Species Range
    Tibetan macaques live in China and the extreme North of India, spreading from Huangshan (Yellow mountain) in Anhui Province, to Tibet, but their exact distribution is not known. The species is listed as conservation dependent. In some areas their territories overlap with rhesus macaques, but rhesus tend to stay at lower altitudes (warmer climate) than the Tibetan macaques. Consequently, Tibetan macaques grow a thicker fur coat to cope with the cold environment of higher altitudes. The number of groups around Huangshan has been estimated to 14, accounting for more than 400 monkeys. Surveys are curently being done by Chinese researchers for a better estimate of the actual ranges and numbers of Tibetan macaques in China.
Life span
In many respects Tibetan macaques are no different than all other species of macaques. They live in groups of tens of individuals, composed of adult males and females, plus their youngsters. On average, the life span of a healthy individual can reach 25-30 years, females living slightly longer than males. Usually females remain in the group where they were born, and many males leave the group upon reaching adulthood (about 8 years old). Males may change groups more than once within their life time. In general (but not as a rule) females of this species have red skin around their eyes(see picture on right).  Tibetan macaques are the largest macaques in the world. Females have smaller bodies and canines than males. Females start to give birth when they are about 5 years old, which is their time of adulthood, and continue to do so until they die. The pregnancy lasts for 6 months, and most infants are born in the first months of the year (January-February). Exceptions are common however. Different from adults which have dark fur, the infants are whitish. The coat color darkens with maturation, but the final color varies from light brown to black. The infants suckle for about a year, and may continue to do so for a while if their mother does not give birth the next year. However, even during the first 6 months of life the infants increasingly supplement their diet with natural (and human provided) food. Nevertheless, an infant is highly dependent on mother's help for the first few years of life. The most critical period in the life of an individual is the first year of life. 
Causes of death
In general, an individual reaching 4 years of age has relatively high chances of reaching far into adulthood (barring accidents). Males face serious challenges at the time of immigration to other groups. At least for the groups around Huangshan, there are no natural predators. Eagles, wild pigs, venomous snakes, and snow leopards are present in the area, but there are no credible accounts of witnessed attacks on monkeys. However, monkeys were observed to give alarm calls and run into trees when big birds, snakes and wild pigs were around. Males are very strong (see second left picture) and they defend the females and youngsters against outsiders, including people and dogs. By far the most serious threat comes from humans: habitat destruction, herbicide and pesticide poisoning, human transmitted diseases and poaching (Tibetan macaques are protected by Chinese law). Fights between adults, especially males, are a common source of injuries. Deaths have been reported in adult males following fights. Infants and juveniles also tend to fall victims to adults when targeted by frustrated individuals. 
Diet
Tibetan macaques are highly reliant on leaves, fruits, grass and to a lesser extent on flowers, roots, and insects. When available, bamboo shoots and bamboo leaves are welcome. Like other monkeys they will happily feed on  plants  grown by or food provided by humans, but do not raid crops as rhesus macaques do. Buddhist Monks at Jiuhua Shan, our staff at Huangshan and tourists at Emei Shan, provide a few groups of Tibetan macaques with staple food. However, if not done under certain conditions, provisioning can cause serious problems for monkeys and people. Side effects of human provisioning are discussed in the Essential rules section. The above picture shows an adult female in the river gathering provisioned corn. 
Behavior
    Contrary to many assumptions and documentary movies, macaques spend much of their time resting. Tibetan macaques are no exception. Except for the unusual commotion associated with feeding or traveling, a lot of time is spent sitting, sleeping or grooming each other. This is not to say they doze all day or are slow fellows. During one day they repeatedly travel through their home range (about 3 Km in diameter for our group) to forage, find shelter against rain, or shade when sunny. If necessary, they can climb steep rocky slopes in no time, and are capable of acrobatic jumps from tree to tree. Within the group they have preferences for some partners and avoid others. In general, friends and relatives tend to cluster together. Macaque societies are hierarchical groups, that is, individuals within a group do rank relative to each other. Higher ranking individuals get better access to resources. Males follow females in the hope of mating with them. The higher the rank of a male, the easier for him to secure matings (unchallenged by other males), thus the more offspring he may sire in the next generation. Females, however, can and do avoid mating especially when approached by males known for their aggressiveness. From studies done on Tibetan macaques at Emei Shan and Huang Shan, the average tenure time for the alpha male (the highest ranking male) is about one year. He is usually a young (8-9 years old) and strong adult male. With age, the male's rank decreases. Females also tend to change ranks. In many respects a high ranking female can dominate lower ranking males, despite being smaller. This is due to help from other individuals, especially high ranking males. Macaques are a "political" society, with a complex network of relationships. By carefully cultivating relationships and relying on them when necessary, an individual is able to influence the interactions with others, and make his/her life in the group manageable if not smooth. This is very necessary in macaques, who are bad tempered compared with other non-human primates (prosimians, monkeys and apes). When groups reach large sizes (in the 40-50 range) some individuals (males, females and juveniles) split from the main group and form a different one, moving to a different home range. Group fissioning is a natural process generated by higher competition over resources, food and access to mating (for males) in the home range. Usually, but not as a rule, the lowest ranking individuals will split from the main group. Since the beginning of the studies on the Yulingkeng group (the one observed by tourists at Huangshan Monkey Valley), 3 fissions have occurred resulting in 3 new groups that live in adjacent territories.
Additional readings
Detailed information about Tibetan macaques can be found in scientific publications (in Chinese and English).  Here we list 3 sources of more general interest:

Li, Jin Hua (1999). The Tibetan macaque society. A field study. Hefei, China: Anhui University Press [in Chinese]
Ogawa, Hideshi (1995). Bridging behavior and other affiliative interactions among male Tibetan macaques (Macaca thibetana). International Journal of Primatology, 16, 707-729.
Zhao, Qi-Kun (1996). Etho-ecology of Tibetan macaques at Mount Emei, China. In: Fa, J., Lindburg, D.G. (eds.). Evolution and ecology of macaque societies. p. 263-289. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ Press [This book is a very good synthesis about macaques]