The Nicobar long-tailed macaque, and all its 10 known subspecies that include the Philippine long-tailed macaque, scientifically called Macaca fascicularis philippensis, is now listed as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The conservation status was upgraded from earlier assessments in 1996 and 2000 wherein the species was listed under lower risk/near threatened categories.
According to the latest assessment by Eudey, A., Kumar, A., Singh, M. & Boonratana, R., the current decreasing population trend of the species’ conservation status changes to vulnerable.
The latest listing of the Nicobar long-tailed macaque by the IUCN prompted the group Action for Primates to call the attention of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
The group is urging the DENR to take the new assessment into consideration refuse any application for permits to capture wild long-tailed macaques in the Philippines.
According to the IUCN assessment, it is thought that the long-tailed macaque has suffered a drastic decline in numbers (over 30 percent) throughout its range in the last 36 to 39 years.
The IUCN assessment noted that “the species is hunted for food and captured live for research and sport hunting.”
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