Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park, located at Sreepur upazila of Gazipur, has now added a critically endangered stump-tailed macaque to its collection.
On August 17, the bear macaque was brought from Sreemangal upazila of Moulvibazar district.
The scientific name of this animal is Macaca arctoides, which can be found in the northeastern part of South Asia.
The stump-tailed macaque has long, thick, dark brown fur covering its body, but its face and its short tail, which measures between 3.2 and 6.9cm, are hairless. Infants are born white and darken as they mature.
As they age, their bright pink or red faces darken to brown or nearly black and lose most of their hair. Males are larger than females, measuring 51.7–65cm long and weighing 9.7–10.2 kg, while females measure 48.5–58.5cm and weigh 7.5–9.1kg.
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Assistant Forest Conservator Tabibur Rahman, who is in charge of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Safari Park, speaking to Dhaka Tribune, said this animal is second to none of its kind in Bangladesh. The local forest department rescued the animal from a mini-park, where it was kept without proper authorization.
The forest department thinks the animal migrated to Bangladesh from Assam, he said.
Stump-tailed macaques are found in subtropical and evergreen forests and different habitats at different heights. They live in dense evergreen forests below 1,500m and subtropical evergreen forests between 1,800m and 2,500m, depending on the amount of rainfall in the area, the officer informed.
They usually travel on the ground, as they cannot roam freely in the trees. But taking shelter in big trees to protect themselves from predators is one of their very few options as they can’t swim.
Fruits are generally a staple part of their diet, though they feed on very large quantities of insects, small animals, and eggs.
The macaque is completely safe in the park, and is completely healthy and moving normally, said the in-charge of the park.
