We have just completed our count of the Phana long-tailed macaques in preparation for the birth control operations that are due to take place next week. We  counted them in four locations as they prepared to go to sleep for the night. The newest group settles down near Ban Don Kwan, the others in the forest near the OPT offices, the pond and the viharn next to the main road. In total we counted 1,188 monkeys, in 6 different age & gender categories.

Phana Monkey Count  16 August 2016 – 25 August 2016

 Conducted by  Phana Monkey Project with assistance from students of Phanasuksa School. Count conducted from 18.15 – 18.45 after putting lines of uncooked rice in target area.

The totals were these:

Dominant adult males: 50         Young adult males:219

Nursing mothers: 204 + 206 infants (2 pairs of twins)

Other adult females: 165

Sub-adults (male & female): 216      Juveniles: 128

Juveniles were most likely under-counted, and it is also highly probable that up to 10% of the population was not feeding at the sleeping site when we were counting. So the real population is probably about 1,500.

Many thanks to the students from Phanasuksa School — we could not have done such an accurate count without them.