A dark, soft-faced monkey from the island of Sulawesi that looks a little like a small, thoughtful ape. Its fur is usually deep brown to almost black, with a slightly lighter ruff around the cheeks and neck that frames the face. The face itself is mostly bare and dark, with expressive amber-brown eyes and a rounded muzzle that can seem serious one moment and playful the next. Its tail is relatively short for a monkey, which makes the body look even more compact and powerful.

This species lives only in central Sulawesi and a few nearby islands in Indonesia, where it inhabits tropical rainforests from low hills up into the mountains. It spends much of its time in the trees but is also comfortable on the ground, moving with an easy, confident gait along forest paths. Its diet is strongly focused on fruit, especially figs and other soft, sugary fruits, but it also eats leaves, flowers, seeds and occasional insects or other small animals. Because it swallows many fruits whole and carries the seeds away from the parent trees before dropping them in its dung, the Tonkean macaque acts as an important “forest gardener,” helping new trees take root in open patches of soil.

Socially, Tonkean macaques are known for being surprisingly gentle and tolerant compared with many other macaque species. Groups are built around related females and their offspring, with adult males joining and leaving over time. This makes the female side of the troop the stable core, while males move between groups over the course of their lives. Within the troop there is still a pecking order, but conflicts are often brief and are followed by reconciliation.

Distribution

Country

Population est.

Status

Year

Comments

Indonesia

150,000

Official estimate

VU

2015

Sulawesi