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MACAQUES IN SINGAPORE
Long-tailed macaques, or crab-eating macaques (Macaca fascicularis), are the only macaques native to Singapore. These primates live in and around the edges of forests and in mangroves. They are also one of the most commonly seen monkeys in downtown Singapore.
Today, urban development is encroaching on the macaques' traditional territory, causing habitat fragmentation. This means there are more human-primate interactions than ever before in residential areas close to the forest edges. Improper food storage, waste disposal, and human feeding also attract macaques, who now enter people’s homes and shops or rummage through garbage bins, looking for easy snacks.
PROMOTING COEXISTENCE WITH SINGAPORE’S MACAQUES
ACRES carries out education and outreach, advising people on what they can and should not do when they encounter a macaque. They believe that if the public can understand macaques’ behaviour and why they enter urban areas, they can reduce fear, encourage positive interactions with humans, and minimize conflict.
Macaques may become defensive if they feel threatened; this behaviour is often misinterpreted as “aggressive.” ACRES teaches Singaporeans how to read this primate’s body language and how to control their own human body language when sharing common spaces. ACRES does not relocate macaques, because this strategy does not work long-term. As long as human food continues to be easily available, other macaques will come to the neighbourhood.
Empowering people to understand and respect their wild neighbours is key to what ACRES does. The advocacy team focuses on providing practical tips, implementing site-specific measures, and teaching people how to keep food out of sight and dispose of it properly in order to minimize visits from and interactions with macaques.
ACRES also carries out wildlife rescue and rehabilitation work 24-7. Among their patients are macaques who are in distress, such as abandoned babies and adults that have been hit by cars or trapped in man-made structures.
ACRES is also a proud member of Singapore’s long-tailed macaque working group. It brings together researchers, government agencies, the Singapore zoo, and NGOs, who share information, carry out research work on hot spots, and conduct public outreach.
For more information and to get your copy of ACRE’s coexistence handbook, visit https://bit.ly/ACRESCoexistence
Macaque Island follows two street-smart troops of long-tailed macaques that rule the forests and urban edges of Singapore. Working behind the scenes of this documentary is ACRES, a pioneering Singapore-based charitable organization that advocates for an end to animal cruelty. As Singapore's first facility dedicated to wild-animal rescue and rehabilitation, ACRES works to end the illegal wildlife trade and save native species that have been injured. ACRES speaks up for animals in its six focus areas: tackling wildlife crime in Singapore, offering humane education, promoting cruelty-free living, providing community outreach, engaging in wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, and promoting coexistence with Singapore’s animal communities.
