Macaca cyclopis
Silhouette: PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The Formosan rock macaque (Macaca cyclopis), also known as the Formosan rock monkey or Taiwanese macaque, is a macaque endemic to the island of Taiwan, which has also been introduced to Japan. Besides humans, Formosan rock macaques are the only native primates living in Taiwan. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1862.
Rock macaques measure 50–60 cm and weigh 5–12 kg, generally females are smaller. Their tails are moderately long and measure 26–45 cm. The Formosan rock macaque is brown or gray in color. Like all other macaques, it has specialized pouch-like cheeks, allowing it to temporarily hoard its food. The gathered morsels are eaten sometime later, in safe surroundings.
Among the 22 species of the genus Macaca that are found in southern and eastern Asia as well as northwestern Africa, the Formosan macaque is the only species endemic to the island of Taiwan. Formosan rock macaques live in mixed coniferous-hardwood temperate forest, as well as bamboo and grassland at 100–3600m (328–11,812 ft). The social structure of macaques is generally characterized as often occurring as a large stable multimale-multifemale... Wikipedia →
Recording0:11
Taiwan · 2024
© 歐陽秀華 · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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Taiwan · 2023
© Cheng-Te Hsu · iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0
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Taiwan · 2020
© mingun · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taroko National Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taipei Zoo | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 2 | Leofoo Village Theme Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 3 | Espace zoologique de Saint-Martin-la-Plaine | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | 新光動物園 | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 5 | Hsinchu Zoo | 🇹🇼 Taiwan |
No species of the same family or order lives in Taroko National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other mammals.
Very likely
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Formosan Rock Macaque sighting in Taroko National Park on a given day, based on 181 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the most-seen of the 12 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and November–December
In those months about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Formosan Rock Macaque in Taroko National Park on a given day, against about 50% in May and September, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Formosan Rock Macaque sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Only Taroko National Park, in our data
Taroko National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Formosan Rock Macaque sightings: about 70% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Formosan Rock Macaque is recorded against all the mammals logged in Taroko National Park (181 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
