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Reactions of wild moor macaques (Macaca maura) to a deceased adult male conspecific in Sulawesi, Indonesia
Rodríguez del Castillo C.
Behaviour
Q2Abstract
Abstract Comparative thanatology examines behavioural responses of animals to dead or dying individuals. In primates, most reports describe infant deaths, and accounts involving adults are rare. Here, we document the reactions of wild moor macaques ( Macaca maura ) to the corpse of an adult male, likely killed by vehicle collision, in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The corpse was monitored with a camera trap for one week, from 1 to 8 April 2025. No macaques were recorded approaching the corpse on the day of death. On the following two days, multiple individuals of different sex and age classes visually inspected the body and produced vocalisations, including howls, barks, and loud calls. No physical contact with the corpse was recorded. From the fourth day onwards, only domestic dogs, jungle fowls, and Sulawesi warty pigs were observed around the corpse. In this case, moor macaques responded to the death of an adult conspecific mainly through visual and vocal behaviours. However, the absence of physical contact may relate to the decomposition state of the corpse when the macaques first encountered it or the possible lack of social bonds between the deceased individual and the recorded macaques.