“UKM Monkeys”
Assalamualaikum and good evening everyone! Today I'm writing a post about monkeys! You might wonder why monkeys? Well, if you are studying in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) main campus in Bangi, you would know that this place is inhabited by monkeys too!
I, as one of the students here can say that monkeys is a part of my daily life. If I see no monkeys for a day, my day will not be complete. Even as I'm writing right now, I can see several monkeys outside of my windows, playing and swinging on the trees. In fact, a monkey came into my room just now and stole my roommate's snack (Thank God it's not mine hehe).
When UKM was established in 1970, 70% of the campus is forest. So it's no wonder this place is full of monkeys too. Although sometimes I find it fun and amusing watching the monkeys playing with each other from my room's window, the monkeys also cause some nuisances in my life.
For example, I can't open the windows in the evening because I'm afraid that they will come to my window and steal foods. Another thing is, it's common for me to hear screams or see people got chase by the monkeys when they are on their way back from the cafe. If you bought food at the wrong time— you buy it at the same time the monkeys come out from the forest— you need to be extra careful. The monkeys will get excited at the sight of plastic bags and if you are holding one, they might chase you.
Alright, actually in this post I want to tell you about the types of monkeys that I have seen in UKM. I'll include some biology facts hehe. Hopefully this post will not be THAT boring. I'm trying to make this post as informative as I can. Not just a rant post about monkeys.
I've studied in UKM for more than a year, so far I've seen THREE types of monkeys. The most common one and can be seen easily around the campus is the Crab-eating Macaque or also known as Long-tailed Macaque. The scientific name of this monkey is Macaca fascicularis. As the name suggests, the physical trait of this species of monkeys is they have a loooooong tail. For this type of monkeys, I can describe them as mischievous and playful. I'm not scared of them because they never chase me for no reason. But you must be careful of them when you are holding plastic bags. They'll chase you for sure.
From Wikipedia, it is said that long-tailed macaque has a long history alongside humans, they have been alternately seen as agriculture pests, sacred animals in some temples and more recently, the subject of medical experiments :(
From another website that I found, Animal Corner, it said that although the name is Crab-eating Macaque, this monkey's diet is not limited to that only. They're an opportunistic feeding omnivore, meaning that will eat a wide variety of animals, plants and other materials. They usually live in groups anywhere from 5-60 individuals. The conservation status of this type of monkeys is least concerned, meaning that they're not threatened.
Next is Southern pig-tailed macaque. The scientific name is Macaca nemestrina. You might know it as 'Beruk' too. They are referred as pig-tailed macaque because they have a short tail that is semi-erect and looks the same as the pig's tail. This species of monkeys are endangered.
An interesting fact that I've found about this species is the higher-ranking female are more likely to give birth to females while the lower-ranking females are more likely to give birth to males. This pattern might because of the daughters generally are harder to raise— they nurse more frequently and need protection from their mother longer and high ranking mothers can provide a good protection.
From my personal experience, this type of monkey is more vicious and violent. I'm not sure if they are naturally like that or not. Once, this type of monkey followed me when I went to pick up my clothes at the clothes line. Note that I'm not bringing any food at that time. I was so scared because this type of macaque is much more bigger than the usual long-tailed monkeys. Thankfully, I managed to escape after that.
The last type of monkey that I'll share about is the Dusky Leaf Monkey (Trachypithecus obscurus). This monkey is my favorite one!! It's so cute! And very nice too. They don't attack the humans like other monkeys. They're generally shy. That's why it's much harder to see this type of monkeys around the UKM campus. But they're there!! I've seen them at the back of Bangunan Pusat Bahasa dan Linguistik. What's sad is the species are near threatened. Their population is decreasing :(
Aren't they cute? The babies are usually orange-colored. They'll turn into black-grey color when they grow older. This species can also be found at Bukit Melawati, Kuala Selangor. During my biology field trip, my lecturer brought the class there. I had the chance to pet this monkey!! They're so soft and they didn't attack when we came close to them.
I think that's all for today's posting. I hope you are not bored while reading my post hehe. Have a nice day everyone!
Alright, actually in this post I want to tell you about the types of monkeys that I have seen in UKM. I'll include some biology facts hehe. Hopefully this post will not be THAT boring. I'm trying to make this post as informative as I can. Not just a rant post about monkeys.
I've studied in UKM for more than a year, so far I've seen THREE types of monkeys. The most common one and can be seen easily around the campus is the Crab-eating Macaque or also known as Long-tailed Macaque. The scientific name of this monkey is Macaca fascicularis. As the name suggests, the physical trait of this species of monkeys is they have a loooooong tail. For this type of monkeys, I can describe them as mischievous and playful. I'm not scared of them because they never chase me for no reason. But you must be careful of them when you are holding plastic bags. They'll chase you for sure.
From Wikipedia, it is said that long-tailed macaque has a long history alongside humans, they have been alternately seen as agriculture pests, sacred animals in some temples and more recently, the subject of medical experiments :(
From another website that I found, Animal Corner, it said that although the name is Crab-eating Macaque, this monkey's diet is not limited to that only. They're an opportunistic feeding omnivore, meaning that will eat a wide variety of animals, plants and other materials. They usually live in groups anywhere from 5-60 individuals. The conservation status of this type of monkeys is least concerned, meaning that they're not threatened.
Next is Southern pig-tailed macaque. The scientific name is Macaca nemestrina. You might know it as 'Beruk' too. They are referred as pig-tailed macaque because they have a short tail that is semi-erect and looks the same as the pig's tail. This species of monkeys are endangered.
An interesting fact that I've found about this species is the higher-ranking female are more likely to give birth to females while the lower-ranking females are more likely to give birth to males. This pattern might because of the daughters generally are harder to raise— they nurse more frequently and need protection from their mother longer and high ranking mothers can provide a good protection.
From my personal experience, this type of monkey is more vicious and violent. I'm not sure if they are naturally like that or not. Once, this type of monkey followed me when I went to pick up my clothes at the clothes line. Note that I'm not bringing any food at that time. I was so scared because this type of macaque is much more bigger than the usual long-tailed monkeys. Thankfully, I managed to escape after that.
The last type of monkey that I'll share about is the Dusky Leaf Monkey (Trachypithecus obscurus). This monkey is my favorite one!! It's so cute! And very nice too. They don't attack the humans like other monkeys. They're generally shy. That's why it's much harder to see this type of monkeys around the UKM campus. But they're there!! I've seen them at the back of Bangunan Pusat Bahasa dan Linguistik. What's sad is the species are near threatened. Their population is decreasing :(
Aren't they cute? The babies are usually orange-colored. They'll turn into black-grey color when they grow older. This species can also be found at Bukit Melawati, Kuala Selangor. During my biology field trip, my lecturer brought the class there. I had the chance to pet this monkey!! They're so soft and they didn't attack when we came close to them.
I think that's all for today's posting. I hope you are not bored while reading my post hehe. Have a nice day everyone!
i laughed really hard when u said about the fact they are swinging in front of your window when u are at the same time writing about them hahahaha
ReplyDeleteit's like, they are telling you we are cute rite? thats why u decide to write about us hahahaha.
anyway, good job jasmine. it is rare to find those who can write an informative and funny things at the same time. u nailed it!
and yes, the last monkey is soo cuteee :D