Abstract

This study discusses the population size of Macaca fascicularis in Penang Botanical Gardens, Malaysia. The scan sampling method was used to observe the groups of M. fascicularis in the gardens. The study was carried out from February 2007 to June 2007. Chi-square test was used to find the correlation of individual appears on the specific area of the gardens. The total number of observations that were carried out during this study was 1134. Among these observation the adult females were observed as 22% (P = 0.15), adult males 17% (P < 0.05), juveniles 56% (P < 0.05) and infants 5% (P = 0.34). This study revealed that the population of long tailed macaques is decreasing in Penang Botanical Gardens. In arranging to get better human contact with macaque and at the similar time to keep up a developed macaque inhabitants in Botanical Gardens Penang, there is an imperative requirement for wildlife department to enhance their safety, food availability and predator’s threats.

Key words: Macaca fascicularis, scan sampling, botanical gardens Penang, wild life.