The Young And The Restless: Male- Female Relationships In A Group Of Captive Lion-Tailed Macaques, Macaca Silenus

Abstract

This study looked at a captive group of lion-tailed macaques, a male dispersed species, in which sexually mature related males were housed with related females in order to assess the effect on male-female relationships. Data were collected via focal sampling on females for all occurrences of event behaviors (ignore, facial threat, physical rebuke, and sexual reception) and focal sampling on males for grooming bouts. Results showed high frequencies of aggression between unrelated dyads (N=37) compared to related dyads (N=24) as well as higher frequencies of affiliate grooming behavior between unrelated dyads compared to related dyads (N=24 versus N=10). A possible link between aggression and age class exists, but many other factors influence this specific troop that should be considered in interpretation of the results, especially captivity stress.