The Importance of Integrative Anthropology: A Preliminary Investigation Employing Primatological and Cultural Anthropological Data CollectionMethods in Assessing Human-Monkey Co-existence in Bali, Indonesia

Authors

James E. Loudon, University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, CO
Michaela E. Howells, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Agustin Fuentes, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN

Date of this Version

2006

Comments

Published in Ecological and Environmental Anthropology Vol. 2, No. 1, 2006. Copyright © 2006 Loudon, Howells, and Fuentes. Used by permission. Online at http://eea.anthro.uga.edu/index.php/eea/index

Abstract

This study investigates the interplay between humans (Homo sapiens) and long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) living in sympatric associations at 11 Hindu temple sites on the island of Bali, Indonesia. Primatological methods were utilized to examine demography, habitat type, and record long-tailed macaque feeding, and ranging behavior. Additionally, interviews and questionnaires were conducted to ascertain Balinese individuals’ perspectives regarding the macaques, local folklores surrounding the macaques, the perceived level of human-macaque overlap, and the degree of crop raiding by the macaques. Ethnographic methods revealed that attitudes toward long-tailed macaques vary, suggesting that human perceptions are determined by religious/local folklores and potential economic variables. In contrast to reports of ubiquitous protection for the monkeys, informants revealed that macaques in some locations are hunted, eaten, captured, and illegally sold to animal dealers, thus providing important insights into our understanding of nonhuman primate conservation and the impact that each primate can have on the other's behavior.