Birth and breeding cyclicity in an outdoor living stumptail macaque (Macaca arctoides) group

Abstract

Birth records were examined for a group of 56 Stumptail macaques that lived in an half-acre outdoor enclosure from 1971 to 1974. Approximate conception times for 33 offspring were calculated and two graphs, one for births and the other one for fertile matings were constructed. Although births occurred throughout the year, 48.5% or these took place between June and September with a peak in July and August (39.4%). Two secondary peaks, one between February and April (27.3%) and the other in November (12.1%) were noted. Fertile matings also took place throughout the year but 56.6% were concentrated between January and June with a peak in January and February (30.3%). A secondary peak was observed for September (12.1%). The data show that no discrete seasonality in matings and births is present forMacaca arctoides but that an unusual pattern consisting of three peaks throughout the year, for births, may be typical of the species. The data are compared with data on the taxonomically close Japanese macaque and a striking dissimilarity is found. While thefuscata macaque has discrete breeding seasonality, thearctoides macaque breeds and gives birth throughout the year and its pattern is more similar to that of the distantly related Crab-eating macaque.