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Clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi) predation on proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus) in Sabah, Malaysia

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Abstract

In this study, we have reported two direct observations of individuals from a one-male group of proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus) being killed by clouded leopards (Neofelis diardi) in the riverine forest along the Menanggul river, a tributary of the Kinabatangan river in Sabah, Malaysia. One of the two individuals was an infant female and the other was a juvenile female. Based on literature reviews and the observations reported here, we suggest that clouded leopard and crocodile might be significant potential predators of proboscis monkeys of any age or sex and that predation threats elicit the monkeys’ anti-predator strategies. Moreover, the observations of the monkeys’ behaviour when the group is attacked by a predator suggest that the adult males in one-male groups play an important role as protectors.

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Acknowledgments

We express our sincere thanks to the Economic Planning Unit of the Malaysian Government, especially M. Bt. A. Manan and G. Vu, for permission to conduct our research in Malaysia. We particularly thank the staff of the Sabah Wildlife Department for their permission to conduct our research in Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary. We are grateful to I. Lackman-Ancrenaz, M. Ancrenaz, Z.A. Jaffer, A.B. Etin and all members of the Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Project for their help. We thank our research assistants, especially A. Bin Arsih and M.S. Bin A. Karim, for their support. We thank H. Katsuta and R. Delatorre for proofreading this manuscript, and we are certainly indebted to Y. Katsuta who helped us overcome many difficulties throughout our study. Finally, we are grateful to anonymous reviewers for their fruitful comments that improved this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Kita-10, Nishi-5, Kita-ku, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan

    Ikki Matsuda & Seigo Higashi

  2. Sabah Wildlife Department, Wisma MUIS, 5th Floor, Block B, 88100, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

    Augustine Tuuga

Authors
  1. Ikki Matsuda
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  2. Augustine Tuuga
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  3. Seigo Higashi
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Correspondence to Ikki Matsuda.

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Matsuda, I., Tuuga, A. & Higashi, S. Clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi) predation on proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus) in Sabah, Malaysia. Primates 49, 227–231 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-008-0085-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-008-0085-2

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