Hematology of a natural population of toque macaques (Macaca sinica) at polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka

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Abstract
Hematological studies were conducted in three wild groups of toque macaques (Macaca sinica) inhabiting the Polonnaruwa Sanctuary in northeastern Sri Lanka. The macaques were temporarily trapped and anesthetized, and femoral blood was drawn from 35 males and 37 females (age range: 0.33–24.5 yr). Statistically significant (PP<0.01) higher, which suggests that this group (representing about 26% of the sample) had been dehydrated during the dry season. Finally, two indices indicative of injury and infection–the ESR and leukocyte counts–were higher in the wild toque macaques than has been reported for other species of macaques held in captivity, and about 15% of the toque macaques sampled had extreme outlier values for these parameters; however, none were visibly ill or died. These results suggest that wild toque macaques are subject to a wide array of physical and biological insults that are unique to natural populations. Am. J. Primatol. 61:13–28, 2003.