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The social organization of Barbary apes ( Macaca sylvana ) on Gibraltar
Author(s) -
MacRoberts Michael H.
Publication year - 1970
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.1330330112
Subject(s) - dominance (genetics) , dominance hierarchy , social hierarchy , social relation , aggression , social organization , group cohesiveness , juvenile , demography , psychology , zoology , biology , developmental psychology , social psychology , ecology , genetics , sociology , gene , anthropology
This paper represents part of the results of a six‐month field study of free ranging Barbary apes on Gibralter. These monkeys are not indigenous to Gibraltar and are maintained on the Rock by the Gibraltar Regiment. They are only occasionally provisioned and sick or injured animals are sometimes removed from their troops and cared for either by the keeper or by the Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The study group had a definable range. Preferred pathways, sleeping, feeding, and resting areas existed. One animal left the group during the study. The position of individuals in nonforaging progressions was nonrandom. Certain individuals tended to walk next to certain other individuals during group progression. Interindividual affectional interaction was nonrandom. All group members except infants could be ranked relative to one another in a basic dominance hierarchy, and their positions remained stable for six‐months. All group members except two juveniles were able to form coalitions with at least one other group member. The most common coalitions were between young animals and adults. Several nonrandom behavioral interactions divided the group into recognizable subgroups. These were protector‐protege, resting and grooming, and play subgroups. The social organization of this group of Barbary apes appears more similar to that described for Japanese and rhesus macaques than to any other primates so far described.