Although considered cute and cuddly by large numbers of the population, the Formosan rock macaque -- Taiwan's most widely dispersed and largest endemic creature -- is causing its' guardians their fair share of headaches.
A recent survey showed that the number of farms regularly loosing crops to macaque raiding has increased by 82 percent. The total number of such cases reported nationwide last year reached an all-time high of 111. And the number of villages now plagued by evening visits by troops of mischievous and noisy macaques has reached a staggering 240 nationwide.
Not that the macaque is the sole antagonist, however. A surge in what could be considered naive macaque-related eco-tourism has seen contact between macaques and humans reach new levels. The most visited macaque abode is Kaohsiung's Taishan Scenic Area
So great are the problems surrounding the macaque and man, that when government agencies, local NGOs and primatologists met in Taipei last week to debate how best to ensure a future for the nation's native ape, the symposium's conclusions actually led to more questions being raised rather than answered.
Jointly organized by the Council of Agriculture
"We visited four locations, each of which offered us a broad view as to the varying conditions in and different approaches being taken in order to deal with the two distinct problems facing the macaque," explained the International Primate Protection League (IPPL) representative, John Spowart. "These being crop raiding conflicts between farmers and the ever-increasing macaque population and the invasive feeding activities of tourists on macaque groups."
The largest of the nation's 14 species of endemic animal -- the 13 others belonging to the bat or rodent families -- the Formosan rock macaque is an internationally protected species.
Once hunted solely for its bones, which were boiled down into a broth and drunk by young men who believed the concoction would give them everlasting virility, the trapping of macaques was outlawed in 1989.
Although no longer critically endangered, the macaque is, according to the World Conservation Union's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Animals, still at risk of extinction in the wild in the medium-term future.
Since the National Wildlife Conservation Law was brought into effect 13 years ago, the numbers of macaques nationwide has, according to some conservationists increased four-fold. The exact number, however, will probably never be known. Some estimates put the number of Formosan rock macaques at between 100,000 and 300,000, while others calculate the number to be as high as 400,000.
"We have given serious thought to counting the exact number of macaques in Taiwan, but it doesn't take a primate specialist to workout that such a task would border on the impossible. They avoid people, run away and hide in trees," explained Lin Yaw-Yuan
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